


erase & rewind

by sopaloma



Series: halloween aus [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Supernatural Elements, some violence in future chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-06 13:01:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 39,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12211803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sopaloma/pseuds/sopaloma
Summary: When a powerful storm hits Riverdale, five students are hit by lightning as they leave school. The result of that storm will change their lives forever, in ways they never could have imagined.A Misfits AU.





	1. part i: the storm

**Author's Note:**

> title from The Cardigans, "Erase and Rewind"
> 
> a new fic and a new series! i think this is going to be a three-parter of various halloween/supernatural-themed aus, unless inspiration suddenly strikes and i have an idea for more.
> 
> a bit of background if you've never seen misfits - it's an amazing British show about five young criminals who are given superpowers after a freak storm. it's so funny and so inventive. some of the concepts are genius. highly recommend.
> 
> this story is partly based on the show - specifically the developing powers part and the simon/alisha dynamic, but you don't need to watch it to understand.
> 
> anyway, hope you enjoy this! something a bit different for the fandom

The rain falls heavy outside, forcefully hitting the windows and drumming against the roof. Jughead sits in the back of the library, eyes on the clock overhead, watching the seconds tick by.

He's surrounded by an unlikely group. Three cheerleaders who, if the gossip is to be believed, got into a physical fight the day before in the middle of practice. Hair was pulled, names were called, nails were used as claws.

He's only seen one of them in detention before - Cheryl. After her brother died and her whole family was torn apart, Cheryl had burned her house down, and was in Jughead's opinion, a total pyromaniac. She'd been in three of his detentions in the last month for starting fires on school grounds.

Betty and Veronica are new additions. Veronica is kinda-new and rich and well-liked, and that is all he knows about her. He's never spoken to her, has no idea what she's like, but Betty is friends with her so he guesses she must be okay.

Ah, Betty Cooper. They used to be friends when they were kids, but they haven't spoken in years. She's still nice and polite, still an overachiever and a good girl™. He feels kind of sorry for her; she doesn't belong in here.

He remembers the Coopers from childhood, when he would go over to the Andrews house and would be forced to play with the neighbor-girl. He doesn't know much about Betty anymore but he does know that her parent's expectations of her have only gotten worse in the last year. The Coopers must be mortified that the good daughter - the one who didn't have a baby at seventeen - has landed herself in detention.

They are definitely a strange group but Jughead doesn't really care. He skips class so much that detention has almost become a hobby for him and seeing some unfamiliar faces switches things up a bit.

Miss Grundy comes in as the clock hits the hour, telling them they can go. Jughead stretches in his seat before standing and slipping his bag over his head. Thankfully he'd driven the truck to school today so he wouldn't have to walk home.

He follows the others out into the hall. Betty and Veronica are in front, arms linked until Betty spots Archie at the end of the hallway and then her arm is slipped through his instead. Cheryl walks behind them, chin raised in the air, heels clicking against the linoleum. She's definitely not friends with her fellow cheerleaders.

They all stop in the doorway, watching the rain as it pours onto the concrete of the parking lot. Thunder rumbles through the air and Jughead shivers, anticipating the oncoming storm. He's never liked storms.

"Come on, lets go."

Archie wraps his arm around Betty's waist, who raises her books over her head. They make their way down the steps, out into the rain, and just as Jughead is about to follow their lead, a huge crack pierces the sky.

"Fuck," Veronica mutters beside him, staring up at the grey clouds. "I hate storms."

_Huh, so they do have something in common._

More thunder, and Jughead decides to just go for it. The rain isn't going to stop anytime soon and he wants to get out of here.

He takes the first step, and as his foot hits the ground, a huge flash appears overhead. The light is blinding, whiteness taking over his vision and leaving him disoriented and lost. He feels dizzy, his head spinning as the thunder gets louder and he loses his footing as he tries to move forward, hitting the ground with a wet thud.

He lies there, rain falling on his face, unable to see anything but bright light until it slowly morphes into darkness.

It's death, he thinks, and it's nothing like he imagined it would be.

 

 

 

When Betty comes to, her head is pounding and her vision is blurry. She holds her head with one hand and pushes herself off the ground with the other. Her clothes are wet from where she fell, leaving dark stains on her pink coat, but there's no pain from where she landed on her side.

She blinks until she can focus and finds Archie lay beside her, clutching his own head.

"Arch?" she asks and reaches out to him.

"Are you okay?" he asks, reaching blindly for her hand. "Shit, that was scary."

She rises onto her feet and pulls him up by the hand, both unsteady. She looks over to the entrance of the school, sees Cheryl, Veronica and Jughead all sat in front of the steps, looking as confused as she feels.

"Crazy storm," Archie says, staring up at the sky. It's lighter now and so is the rain, as if they hadn't just been hit by the biggest bolt of lightning she's ever seen.

Her eyebrows pull together. "Yeah... crazy."

Veronica races over to them, face pale.

"Are you guys okay? God, that was so weird. I _hate_ storms."

"We're okay," Betty says, taking Veronica's hand in hers and giving it a quick squeeze. "Lets go home, get into some dry clothes. Are you both okay to drive?" she asks them.

Veronica nods as Archie says, "Yeah, I'm fine. Lets go."

Veronica waves at her through the window as she pulls away. She stills looks shaken and scared, and Betty wonders if she'll receive a phone call tonight. Archie looks freaked out but he manages to drive them home with no problems, and pulls up outside her house.

"Take some Tylenol for the headache," she tells him. "And tell your dad if you start to feel worse."

"I will," he promises with a small smile. "But don't worry about me. You fell, too. You need to take care of yourself."

Her eyes soften. "I know and I will."

She leans across the seat to give him a kiss goodbye, hands pressed against the bench seat between them. He meets her halfway, pressing his lips to hers, but they both reel back in shock at the sharp pain that hits them as soon as their lips connect.

Her hand flies up to her mouth, fingers pressing against her lips.

"Weird," Archie mutters, feeling his own lips. "Like an electric shock. Must be static."

Betty doesn't know what to say. It's an odd moment and she can't make sense of it.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Arch," she says as she climbs out of the car, unable to look at him as she slams the door closed.

"Later, Betts," he calls as he makes his way over to his house.

Betty runs up to her room as soon as she's inside, ignoring the calls of her mother. She throws her bag onto the floor and sits down on her bed, hands shaking as she lifts them up to her face. She turns them, connecting her fingertips and gasps as she sees the spark of electricity fly between them.

What the fuck was happening to her?

 

 

 

His head still hurts when he gets home, so he swallows a couple of pills and flops down onto his bed, ready to sleep it off.

Sleep doesn't come easy. His body is thrumming, like there's a current running through him. He convinces himself that it's hunger and eats some leftovers, hoping that will make it go away.

It doesn't. Hours later, and he's still lay on his tiny twin bed, tossing and turning as he tries to get comfortable. He has no idea what time it is, but he figures it must be late as his dad comes stumbling through the door, crashing into furniture as he walks inside.

"Jug?" he calls out and Jughead sighs.

He flops over onto his back, laces his fingers over his stomach, and waits for his father to find him. He really isn't in the mood to listen to his dad's drunken rambling but there's not much he can do about it. The thrumming increases as he lies in wait and Jughead's hands curl up into fists.

His bedroom door swings open, his father standing in the doorway, drunk and smelling of beer.

"Jughead?" He looks around the room, brow furrowed. "Where the hell is he?" he mutters to himself as he turns from the room.

Jughead sits up in bed, unable to believe what he was seeing. His dad was drunk a lot and he's seen him at his worst, but he's never been so drunk that he couldn't see a person directly in front of him.

He follows him out into the living room, watches him look in the bathroom with an amused smile on his face. It was tragic really, but he had to find some humor somewhere.

He waits by the sofa, arms folded across his chest. His dad leaves the bathroom with a sigh and walks over to the couch, throwing himself onto it. Jughead can't believe that he still hasn't seen him and moves to stand directly in front of the TV - surely he'd notice him if he was blocking his view.

But he looks right through him, as if he's not even there, and panic begins to settle in his stomach. How could he not see him? What the hell had he been drinking?

He rushes into the bathroom to splash some water on his face as he tries to decide on his next move. Would calling 911 even help? They'd probably laugh at him if he told them his dad was so drunk he'd lost the ability to see people. He grips the edge of the sink as he tries to come up with a plan and lifts his head to look in the mirror.

But there's nothing.

He can't see himself, only the reflection of the door behind him, and the panic begins to crawl up into his throat. This was a nightmare, it had to be. A side-effect of the storm, his brain doing crazy things after he fell and hit his head.

Without thinking about it, he lifts his hand and slaps himself across the face, hard, eyes squeezed shut as he braces himself for the pain.

When he opens his eyes, he breathes a sigh of relief. He's there, in the mirror, his solemn face stricken with panic. A laugh escapes him as he realizes how crazy he was being. He was hallucinating, he had to be.

He leaves the bathroom, still unsure what to do about his dad, but stops short in the doorway as FP's head snaps up.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for ya."

His dad's gaze is steady, despite the haze of drunkenness, and Jughead swallows thickly.

What the hell had happened during that storm?

 

 

 

Veronica spots Betty by her locker and she's never been so happy to see her best friend. She pushes quickly through the crowded hallway, ignoring the onslaught of voices in her head. It's like a constant hum, no voice distinct unless she focuses in on it.

"B!" she shouts as soon as she reaches her and Betty looks up in surprise.

"V?" Her eyes are wide, flickering across her face. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Come with me," she demands and pulls her into an empty classroom as soon as her locker is closed shut.

In the classroom, there is only one voice in her head, thoughts filled with worry - Betty.

"What's going on, V?"

"Have you felt... weird? Since the storm last night?"

Betty swallows. "What do you mean?"

"This is gonna sound insane but I swear I'm not messing with you," Veronica begins. "I can hear people's thoughts."

Betty takes a sharp intake of breath, a deep frown settling over her face. "I don't know what's happening. I don't understand this at all."

"Has something happened to you, too? Can _you_ hear people's thoughts?"

She shakes her head, eyes downcast. "No, it's not that..." She walks up to Veronica, hands outstretched. "Put your hand against mine," she instructs.

Veronica presses her palm to hers and jumps back as she feels pain radiating through her hand.

"What the fuck?" she cries as she begins to pace the room. "What is happening to us?!"

"I don't know," Betty says, unshed tears in her eyes, "but it's freaking me out, V. I can't- I can't touch anyone."

"We have to speak to the others. We have to ask them if they're experiencing it, too."

"No," Betty say firmly. "Not yet. We need to think about this, not make any rash decisions."

"But what if-"

Betty cuts her off. "Lets keep it between us, just for now, until we decide what to do."

Veronica sighs but eventually agrees. "Fine. Just between us."

 

 

 

She knows she agreed not to talk about it, but she can't stop herself from staring at Jughead and Cheryl and Archie as they enter their Chemistry class. Physically she looks no different, so she's not sure what she's expecting to see if anything has changed in them, but she still spends most of the class studying them, looking for signs.

It's hard to concentrate during the lesson. Everyone's thoughts are crowding her head, leaving her with no room to think. She can make out specific voices, tries to tune into them, but it doesn't work. It's too messy.

_...I'm definitely gonna fail Chemistry..._

_...I wonder if Reggie really did hook up with Midge on Saturday..._

_...I hate every fucking person in this room..._

She's collecting her books together at the end of class when Jughead approaches. He looks nervous, eyes darting around the room.

"Can I talk to you?" he asks, looking pointedly at her and Betty, and then catching Archie and Cheryl's eye. "All of you."

"What's up, Jug?" Betty asks with a patented-polite smile.

"It's about... the storm. Something happened last night, and I don't understand..."

"What are you talking about, Donnie Darko? You're not making any sense," Cheryl snaps.

His nostrils flare in irritation. "It's like I have... an ability. Like, a power. Have any of you felt it?"

Veronica looks over at Betty who shakes her head slightly.

"I don't know what you mean," she responds and immediately feels guilty when she sees Jughead's face fall.

Cheryl smirks cruelly. "There you go, loser. You're not the next Iron Man. You're just being a freak, as per."

Veronica narrows her eyes at Cheryl and watches as her gaze moves over her, checking out her outfit.

_...God, that skirt is ugly. Proof that money doesn't buy taste..._

"Well you would know, bitch."

The words fly out of her mouth before she can stop them and Veronica clasps a hand over her mouth.

Cheryl's head snaps up. "Were you talking to me?"

"No," Veronica insists, but it's so obviously a lie.

"But Cheryl didn't say anything," Jughead points out, eyes flickering between the two of them before they land on her. "Why did you say that? What's going on?"

"Fine," Veronica snaps, crossing her arms across her chest. "I can hear what people are thinking, okay? And Cheryl was being a bitch, but no surprises there." She shoots her a sardonic smile.

Beside her, Archie laughs. "Seriously, Ronnie? Okay, okay. So if you can hear people's thoughts - what am I thinking about right now?"

"Boobs and football," Veronica replies with a roll of her eyes. "But I don't need to be a mind-reader to know that."

Archie's eyes grow wide. "Oh my god. She's right! I _was_ thinking about boobs and football."

Cheryl gives Archie a disapproving look and turns to Jughead. "Alright, so if Cher Horowitz can read minds, what can you do?"

"Turn invisible," Jughead answers and with a crack of his neck, disappears on the spot.

Archie lets out a loud, gleeful laugh as Jughead reappears. "Holy shit. This is amazing." His laughter abruptly cuts off as he eyebrows knit together. "Wait. I don't have a power."

Cheryl rolls her eyes. "So what's your power, Cooper?"

Betty shifts uncomfortably, wringing her hands together. "I can... make electricity with my hands."

"You can _what_?" Jughead asks as Archie gasps.

"When you kissed me last night. That's what I could feel."

Betty nods, sadly. "Yeah. It kind of sucks. I don't think... I don't think I can touch anyone."

Veronica rubs a comforting hand along Betty's arm, protected by the cotton of her sweater.

Cheryl hums. "Sucks for you, Archiekins. Looks like you won't be getting laid anytime soon."

"Cheryl!" Veronica snaps, glaring at her. "Do you have anything to show us or are you just going to stand around making dumb comments?"

She glares back. "Fine. I'll show you."

"So you do have a power."

"Of course I do," she snaps. "I just didn't want to be the first one to admit it. I'm not an idiot."

"Just show us already," Jughead moans.

A smirk pulls at Cheryl's red lips and with a click of her fingers, a burst of flame shoots up, hovering above her fingertip.

"Total pyromaniac," Jughead mutters, staring at the fire, and Cheryl narrows her eyes at him as she clicks her fingers again, shutting the flame off.

"I'm _not_ a pyromaniac."

Jughead's eyebrows raise. "Okay..."

"So what do we do now?" Betty asks, looking around the group. "Do we tell anybody?"

"No way," Jughead says resolutely. "We keep this to ourselves until we figure out why we have these powers."

"Fine by me," Cheryl agrees and Veronica nods. She doesn't know what will happen to them if they try to explain this to anyone else.

"I won't tell anyone," Archie assures them. "But it's _so_ unfair that you guys all get powers and I don't. I mean, what the fuck?"

They part ways, definitely not friends but now bonded by this secret. Veronica steps out into the thankfully empty hallway and tries to clear her head. It's the first time she's experienced silence in twelve hours and the thought of going to her next class is daunting.

She doesn't know why they've been given these powers but she's already decided that she hates it.

 

 

 

"How do you feel about all of this?" Betty asks as they lean up against a row of lockers.

Archie scrubs a hand across his face. "I don't know, Betty. It's a lot to take in and it doesn't even really affect me. How do you feel?"

"I hate it," she admits, throat feeling thick with the threat of tears. "I won't be able to hug my mom and dad, or hold my niece and nephew. And how do I explain that to them?"

Archie sighs and on instinct reaches for her hand, snapping it back as soon as the shock hits his fingers.

"Fuck."

Betty starts crying then, fat tears rolling down her cheeks and staining her skin.

"God, I'm so sorry. I didn't think."

He rubs his hand along her arm over her clothing. She's still crying, bottom lip trapped between her teeth. Archie is lost, struggling to come up with comforting words. He goes for a joke instead; laughter was always better than tears.

"So I guess Cheryl was kind of right, huh?" he says with a half uptick of his mouth and Betty's eyes narrow, mouth forming a thin line.

"Really, Arch?" She's not yelling, but she's close. "Well, thanks for being a jerk! Just what I need right now."

She storms off before he can say anything, ponytail swishing behind her. He falls back against the lockers with a heavy sigh, watching her leave. Guilt pulls at his stomach. He was a terrible boyfriend, he never knew the right thing to say.

He decides to chase after her, pushing himself away from the lockers but stops in his tracks as his vision goes blurry. He can't move, his body suspended in motion, and it feels like his breath is being pulled from him.

He blinks and when he comes to, he's up against the locker again, Betty in front of him, not crying but about to.

"...And how do I explain that to them?"

Holy shit. _He went back_. He's back in the conversation they just had.

His hand reaches up but instead of going for her hand, he takes hold of her cotton-covered elbow, and runs a path along her forearm in what he hopes is a comforting way. He's not going to mess up this time.

"I don't know, Betts, but we'll figure it out. Together."

Betty gives him a watery smile. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"I better get to class. I'm already late." She leans up as if to kiss his cheek but then pulls back with a sigh. "Sorry. Didn't think. I'll see you later."

He watches her leave again, a normal pace this time, still sad but better than she was before.

Archie stands there for a little while, considering what this meant. He could turn back time, but not at will. There were limits and he thinks about the feeling of guilt that washed over him before time was reversed.

He always had the best of intentions but he often messed up and hurt people without meaning to. With this power, he hopes that never happens again.

 

 

 

For three days now, Jughead has seen the hooded figure. It's a man, he's sure of it, dressed in dark pants and a black hoodie, hood pulled up to obscure his face. He's lurking, always watching, whether from the tops of buildings or behind walls. He doesn't seem like a threat but it still unnerves him.

He finds the others in the break room, gathered on the sofas. They'd formed an unlikely group since the storm, brought together by the unexplainable things they could now do. Kevin was there, too, privy to the information only because Veronica and Betty had insisted.

"Hey," Jughead says as he drops into the chair beside Archie. "Have you seen that guy hanging around? In the hoodie?"

"Want to narrow that down for us, Jug. There's a hundred guys in this building wearing hoodies," Veronica points out.

"He's not in the building. He's outside, watching us. He's discreet but I've still seen him."

"Sounds creepy," Cheryl comments with a wrinkle of her nose.

"I've seen him," Betty confesses. "He wears a mask, too. He was outside my house last week, propped up against a tree. It was weird but so is a lot of stuff these days. He doesn't seem threatening."

"Well I don't like it," Veronica states. "Threatening or not, we don't know who this guy is or what he wants. And it clearly has something to do with the storm."

Cheryl rolls her eyes. "Obviously. Doesn't everything?"

The bell rings then, and the group disperses, heading towards their respective classes. Out in the hall, Jughead watches Betty and Archie in front. Side-by-side, hangings swinging close but not touching. Jughead feels bad for Betty, he really does. She was a generally happy person and affectionate, too. But that was no longer a possibility for her and her sunny disposition seemed to be slipping away with it.

There's a loud crash beside him and Jughead head snaps to the right, towards the noise. Reggie and Chuck are by the lockers, Dilton Doiley pushed up against them, Chuck's hand around his throat. His glasses are askew and he's hoisted high enough that his feet aren't touching the ground. Jughead hesitates for a moment, wondering if he should intervene, but he knows he won't be able to help. It would just make Chuck even more mad and he's unfortunately been on the receiving end of that anger before.

He rushes off to class, trying to ignore the sob behind him as Chuck throws Dilton onto the floor.

 

 

 

"So..." Veronica begins, knocking her shoulder against Cheryl's. They're walking side-by-side, both heading towards their next class. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"Spit it out then," Cheryl demands, eyes trained forward.

Veronica huffs but continues anyway. Cheryl's attitude wasn't anything new.

"I'm calling a truce," she says, pulling Cheryl to a stop. "I know we've never been the best of friends but we're in this thing together and we need to be civil, at the very least. So I'm willing to put our differences aside, if you are."

Cheryl pauses for a moment but eventually nods. "Okay. I think I can agree to that."

"Great." Veronica grins. "Does this make us... friends?"

Cheryl snorts. "I guess." She shakes her head then. "That fucking storm will not stop messing with my life."

Veronica shrugs. "I think we all need to get used to it."

She starts to walk again but Cheryl grabs her arm before she can take her first step.

"What?"

"Do you wanna skip?" Cheryl asks, a small smile on her face. "Friends skip together, right?"

"I suppose they do," Veronica agrees. She raises a brow. "What did you have in mind?"

"There's a clear spot behind the football field and I _may_ have discovered how to throw fireballs last night."

Veronica's mouth drops open. "What the hell? Lets go!"

She grabs Cheryl's hand, pulling her down the hallway, their heels clicking against the floor as they run to the doors leading to the field.

Despite herself, a huge smile spreads across Cheryl's face. Maybe being friends with Veronica Lodge wouldn't be such a bad thing.

 

 

 

Betty wraps her arms around her knees and rests her cheek against them as she tries to calm down. She needed to stop crying before Jughead arrived. He was reluctant to join the Blue and Gold as it was; finding her crying in the office during their third meeting was not going to encourage him to stick around.

The door swings open then and he walks inside with a, "Hey, Betty."

She gives him what she hopes is a convincing smile but he pauses as soon as he looks at her, seeing right through it.

"Are... Are you okay?" he asks hesitantly.

She nods, lip trapped between her teeth, but she can feel the tears welling up and she can't stop them from falling.

"Betts," he sighs and takes a seat next to her on the tabletop, his hand reaching up to rub along her back. It's a light pressure through her clothes but it still feels nice. "Is it the power?"

"I hate this," she cries as she turns to him. "I know none of us asked for this but, God, did I have to get the power that would ruin my whole life?"

"What's happened?"

"It's _everything_ ," she admits. "My parents are worried because I'm pulling away, I haven't seen my sister in three weeks, and me and Archie... Things aren't good between us. I know relationships aren't only about the physical but I can't even kiss his cheek. It's awful."

Jughead continues rubbing circles into her back. "I'm so sorry, Betts. I wish there was a way we could fix this."

She wipes her fingers beneath her eyes, collecting the moisture and gives him a weak smile. "Thanks, Jug. And not just for now but... for everything. You really took control of this, got us talking about it. And I know you've been trying to research why it happened."

"It's not doing much good," he says, a frown settling over his face. "I've found nothing, not a single explanation for why this happened."

"Well, still, I appreciate it. It's more than the rest of us are doing."

He gives her a small smile in return but looks embarrassed by her thanks.

Her whole life has has been turned upside down and the only thing she ever seems to think about or talk about these days is the goddamn storm. She wants a distraction, if only for an hour.

"Shall we get started? Our deadline is next Thursday so we need to put something together."

He nods. "Sure thing. You're in charge, so just tell me what you need me to do."

 

 

 

Betty stays behind after Jughead leaves, editing some of the work they put together. She doesn't want to go home just yet, doesn't want to see her parents worried, disappointed faces and spend another night holed up in her room. She could call Archie, she supposes, and hang out at his for a while but she doesn't want to see him either.

Things aren't good between them right now. She was being honest when she said their relationship wasn't just about the physical aspect, but that part is important and she misses being touched, being held, being kissed. And without those things, they were both starting to pull away.

She turns to look out the window and sees that it's getting dark, and rain has started to fall. Resigned, she packs her stuff into her bag and slips into her coat.

The parking lot is pretty empty, only a few of the teacher's cars left. She tightens her grip on her bag and walks out to the lot, heading to her car.

She hears, before she sees the car, the tires of the red vehicle squealing as it speeds around the corner. The headlights, bright and at full beam, come into view, heading in her direction. The car is moving fast and she doesn't have a chance to move out the way. She can only stare at the car as she waits for it to hit her, her hands curled up into fists at her side.

A strong force runs into her before the car makes contact, knocking her out if it's path and onto the ground. She grunts as she lands and vaguely recognizes the feeling of a body behind her, an arm wrapped around her waist.

Her head hits the ground, pain radiating through the side of her face. She lies there, feeling dizzy and disoriented and just before she lets the darkness take over, feels a hand slip into hers.

 

 

 

She blinks against the harsh light above her, her eyes struggling to adjust. She's in a bed, she realizes, but not a bed she recognizes or has been in before. There's a dull ache near her temple as she sits up and her coat and shoes have been removed.

Her eyes dart around the room, taking in her surroundings. She's in a studio apartment - grey, modern, kind of empty. The ceiling is covered in big lights and the bed is one of the only pieces of furniture in the apartment. There's a partition wall in front, with a small kitchen area, metal lockers lining one wall and she can hear the sound of running water coming from the back of the room.

She's never seen this place before.

She stumbles out of the bed and slips her shoes on. As she walks through the apartment, she takes note of her surroundings. There's an elevator to her right and a stool next to the kitchen island. On her left there is a digital clock, and as she watches the seconds tick down, she realizes it's a timer.

The clock isn't the only thing on the wall. It's surrounded by photographs, hundreds of them, and as she looks closer she sees that they're all pictures of them. Her, Archie, Veronica, Cheryl and Jughead. Most of them are blurry, taken from a distance, everyone clearly unaware that they're being photographed.

She leans against the desk in front to take a closer look when she hears something drop the floor. She looks down, trying to find the item and gasps at what she sees. With shaking hands, she lifts up the black hoodie.

It was _him_. The guy in the hoodie saved her from being hit by the car.

The smart thing to do would be to leave the apartment as quickly as possible. To grab her coat and step into the elevator and pretend she never saw this place. But she can't. She's inquisitive by nature and now that she's here, with the hooded man only a few feet away, she can't help but want to know more.

Tentatively, she walks towards the partition wall, following the sound of the water. There's a piece of frosted glass behind it and she can vaguely make out the outline of a body, stood beneath a shower head. She swallows, pulse thumping in her ears as she takes another step forward, peering behind the glass.

The man is turned away from her, rivulets of water rolling down his naked back as he stands beneath the shower, and soaking his dark hair. She stands and stares, feeling almost paralyzed, unable to move, and watches him tense as he notices her presence.

He turns to look at her, water dripping over his nose and Betty's mouth parts in shock.

" _Jughead?_ " she breathes out.

He smiles, just one side of his mouth pulling up.

"Hey, Betts."

 

 


	2. part ii: past, present, future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are about to get heavy! and i don't think i said this in the last chapter but - MAJOR spoilers for misfits. if you're hoping to watch it in the future and don't want to be spoiled, i would watch the show before reading this.
> 
> warning for blood, violence, knives, assualt

Archie doesn't go the Southside very often. He didn't really know anyone there and any of the stories he heard about it were never good. But he's been feeling low lately, the constant fighting with Betty getting him down.

He loves her - or at least, he thinks he does - and seeing her so depressed about her power was making him feel bad. He misses her too, misses kissing her and touching her, and he knows she misses it as much as he does. But it was  more than that - she was so upset all the time and she was starting to pull away from him. There was no closeness there anymore, physically or emotionally.

So agreeing to go to the Southside with Reggie may not have been the best idea, but he needed a change of pace.

They're going to meet up with Reggie's weed dealer, Joaquin. He's never met the guy before, has no idea what he looks like, but Reggie assures him that he always has the best stuff.

He lives in a trailer on the Sunnyside park. Archie briefly considers going to find Jughead - despite being thrown together in shitty circumstances, he actually likes Jughead and his sarcastic commentary on everything - but realizes he has no idea which trailer is his.

When they enter the trailer, there are three people inside - two guys and a girl. The guy at the back, with long dark hair, is Joaquin, and Reggie greets him with a big grin and a hug. Reggie was obviously a regular customer.

He stands back while Reggie chats with Joaquin and notices the other two watching him. The girl is hot, with pink hair and big brown eyes, and she smirks as she catches his eye. The guy next to her is tall and skinny, with greasy hair and acne. He's glaring, more than staring, at Archie and he shifts uncomfortably under his gaze.

Reggie pays for his eighth and stuffs it into his pocket. The skinny guy leans over to Joaquin and whispers something in his ear, and just as they're about to leave the trailer, Joaquin calls out to him.

"Hey, Red!" Archie turns, brow furrowed. "Pretty sweet power you've got there."

Archie looks over at Reggie who is already outside, sparking up a cigarette.

"Gimme a sec, Reg. I need to talk to these guys."

Reggie waves him off. "Whatever, man. Do what you gotta do. I'll be out here."

Archie slams the door shut and turns on Joaquin, nostrils flaring. "How do you know about that? Who told you?"

Joaquin laughs and leans back in his chair. "Relax, Red. We're all like you here, we're not a threat. And this guy-" he points his thumb at the skinny guy, "-can detect other people's powers."

"What's up," the guy says, tipping his chin up. "I'm Brody."

"And I'm Toni." The girl wriggles her fingers at him and shoots him a wink. "I've got Telekinesis." Archie's confusion must be clear on his face because she snorts. "I can move things with my mind."

"Woah. Cool." Toni seems pleased by his reaction and grins at him. He turns to Joaquin. "So what can you do?"

Joaquin smiles, but it's mean and unfriendly. "That's a secret, Red."

"Okay..." Archie shoves his hands into the pockets of his letterman jacket. "Well I've gotta go. But it was nice to meet you.. I guess."

"I'm sure we'll see each other again soon," Toni says, eyes raking over him.

Archie enjoys the attention more than he should and quickly leaves the trailer, not looking back as they burst into laughter behind him.

"You good?" Reggie asks, leant up against his car.

Archie nods. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm good. Lets go, man. I hate being in the Southside for too long."

"I hear that," Reggie agrees and climbs inside his car.

They drive out of the park, hip-hop blaring out of the speakers, and Archie stares at the trailer in the side mirror until it's no longer in sight.

They weren't alone. There were others like them. He had to tell them.

 

 

 

Betty sits at the edge of the bed, chewing at her nails as she waits for Jughead to come out. He approaches her slowly, cautiously, water still dripping from his hair and a pair of sweatpants slung low around his waist.

He's toned, muscular, with smooth, olive skin. He's nothing like she imagined, not that she'd ever thought much about what Jughead looked like under his baggy t-shirts. She really wishes he'd put a shirt on, something to cover up his chest. She's already having a hard enough time processing all of this without him being half-naked.

"Why didn't you tell me you were him?" she asks. "Is that why you've been doing all this research? So you can become some kind of... protector? Guardian?"

"I'm not him," he replies, voice firm. "The Jughead at school today - that's not me. I..." He pauses. "I've travelled from the future."

Betty scoffs. " _Right_. The future. So, what? There's two of you now?"

"Yeah," he responds simply. "There's the Jughead you go to school with, from this time. And there's the Jughead from the future who's come back to this time - me."

Betty goes quiet, trying to make sense of this. _Two Jughead's_. It was a pointless exercise, because it didn't make any sense, although not much did these days.

Her eyebrows knit together. "But that isn't your power. How are you travelling through time?"

"It will be, eventually. It's complicated but... some of us have new powers in the future. A lot happens between your time and mine."

Betty rises from the bed and walks slowly until she closes the distance between them. She can hear his intakes of breath, watches him blink down at her. He's real, he's actually in front of her; he's not some crazy hallucination.

"You can... touch me," she says quietly, fingertips tingling as she thinks of his hand in hers, the only thing she registered before she was out cold. "Is that because of a new power?"

He nods. "Yes."

His eyes flicker over her face, taking her in, and there's an intensity there that she's never seen before. Jughead has always been a little intense, but there's something different there, other emotions lurking beneath the surface.

Slowly, he lifts his hand and brushes away a strand of hair that's slipped from her ponytail.

"Does it hurt?" he asks, fingertips brushing against her tender skin.

She nods minutely, worried that any more movement will make him stop touching her. She doesn't want him to stop touching her.

His fingertips slide down her jaw until he's cupping her face in his hand.

"You've had two falls in the last month. You need to be careful. If you have any dizziness or something doesn't feel right, go to a hospital," he instructs, expression serious.

"I will," she promises.

She licks her lips, still staring up at him, and his eyes move from hers to follow the movement.

He's so different, yet still the same. There's a confidence there that he doesn't currently possess, but the softness, the kindness - Jughead's been that way as long as she's known him.

She voices the thought. "You're so different."

He smiles down at her. "Not really. I'm still the same Jughead."

Maybe he is, she wouldn't know. This man is basically a stranger to her.

He's so focused on her, eyes constantly moving across her face, as if memorizing every detail. Part of her feels uncomfortable, but part of her feels... safe, even desired. She likes the way he's looking at her, although she'd never admit it to herself.

Despite this, his presence still unnerves her. She'd seen movies - no one ever travelled back in time because everything went well and everyone got a happy ending.

"Does something bad happen to us?" she asks, voice shaky at the implication of her question. "Is that why you're here?"

"I'm not going to let that happen," he says fiercely, blue eyes piercing as he takes her face between both of his hands now.

The intimacy is too much. She's missed being this close to another person but the combination of his words and the way he's looking at her - the way _Jughead_ is looking at her - is more than she can handle. Everything is already so complicated and being around him is only further scrambling her thoughts.

"I have to go," she says, stepping away from him. "My parents will be wondering where I am."

He nods, moving further back to give her more space, but she catches the look of anguish that passes over his face. She collects her things and buttons up her coat, trying to forgot about the look as she walks over to the elevator.

"You can't tell them about me, and you especially can't tell him. He can't know about this. Not yet. He's not ready."

She turns to him, brow furrowed. "When does he... How does he become you?"

He smiles and it's so familiar to her, a smile she's known since childhood.

"You fall in love with him."

 

 

 

Veronica corners her at school a few days later, looking concerned.

"What's going on, B? You've been acting weird for days now and you've got this mark on your head."

"I thought I covered it up," Betty grumbles, rubbing at her temple.

"No amount of foundation could hide that. It's purple."

Betty sighs and slams her locker shut. "It's nothing, okay? I just fell. It's not a big deal."

She tries to walk away but Veronica pulls her back.

"B," she says, tone serious. "Is Archie... He's not hurting you, is he?"

"No! Of course not." She looks away and mutters, "It's not like he can touch me, anyway."

Veronica sighs and wraps her arm around her shoulders, careful not to touch her skin.

"I'm sorry, B. I'm just worried. Things have been so messed up since the storm and I know things aren't great between you and Archie right now."

She hates lying to Veronica but she knows she has to. Jughead had warned her - none of them were ready to know of his existence. She tries her best to push all thoughts of him from her mind, not wanting her to pick up on it.

"It's nothing, V. I promise."

 

 

 

Jughead is already in the office when she gets to the Blue and Gold. She pauses in the doorway, watching him for a moment. He's hunched over his laptop, fingers tapping at the keys as he types. His face is tight with concentration, the line of his jaw visible from this distance, and his beanie sits on his head, as always.

She's not repulsed by the idea of being with Jughead. He's handsome, in a moody, Heath Ledger kind-of-way, and she knows he's a good person. But it's weird to think of him like that. For years he was her childhood friend with the silly nickname, and when they reached high school he wasn't even her friend anymore. They're closer now, obviously, but she can't imagine being _that close_ to him.

And besides, she has Archie. He's her boyfriend and that meant something, despite what she'd been told. _You fall in love with him..._

The word have plagued since that evening in the apartment. He was so cryptic and mysterious, this Future Jughead. The more confident, more mature Jughead, who looked at her in a way no man ever has before. Just the memory of the intense look in his eyes makes her stomach flutter.

This Jughead would never look at her like that, and that's why the idea of her falling in love with him seems so impossible to her. How would it ever happen?

She takes a deep breath and plasters a big smile on her face before she walks into the room.

"Hey, Jug," she says brightly as she drops her bag onto the desk.

He smiles but doesn't look up from his screen. "Hey, Betts. How's it going?"

They work mostly in silence, in front of their respective laptops. It's a comfortable silence and Betty's glad for it. She's been such a mess of emotions lately that its almost relaxing.

He's still on her mind, though - the future version of the boy in front of her. Every so often, she'll look up at him, study him, but tries not to linger too long. She doesn't want him to catch her staring at him. And she doesn't even know _why_ she's staring. That Jughead and this Jughead were two different people.

She finishes the sentence she's writing and clicks 'save', before closing her laptop. He's still typing away, eyes focused on the screen.

"Hey, Jug?"

The clicking stops as he looks up at her.

"I know that when we got to high school our friendship kind of fell apart but... if I was ever mean to you, I'm sorry. I never wanted to stop being your friend. It just kind of... happened."

Jughead gives her a small smile. "You were never mean to me, Betts. You haven't got a mean bone in your body. And you know, people change and drift apar. That's just how things work."

"I guess," she agrees, but she still feels bad. "For what it's worth - I'm glad we're friends again. I would have preferred not getting caught up in that storm, but still - I'm happy."

His smile is wide now, genuine. "Me, too."

 

 

 

Archie gathers them all in the break room, after school. It had been days since he met Joaquin but he hasn't been able to get them altogether to tell them, and he needed somewhere private. He didn't want anyone overhearing their conversation.

"What's the big news, Troy Bolton?" Cheryl asks as she perches on the arm of Veronica's chair.

They all turn to him, awaiting his answer.

"We're not the only ones with powers."

Veronica's eyebrows shoot up. "Other people were affected by the storm?"

"At least three more. Two guys and a girl on the Southside, I met them last week."

"What were you doing on the Southside?" Jughead asks, as Cheryl says, "What can they do?"

He ignores Jughead's question, not wanting to get into it.

"One of the guys could detect other people's powers. And the chick could move stuff with her mind," he says excitedly. As annoying as their situation could be, he never got bored of the powers. "The other guy wouldn't tell me what he could do. He was kind of an asshole."

"Ooh, telekinesis! That's a good one," Veronica comments and smiles at Cheryl.

"Right? Like a real-life Carrie!"

He watches the exchange with a frown. The newfound friendship between them was still weird. He always felt like he was the butt of some private joke whenever he was around them. They were always whispering to each other and giggling.

"What were their names?"

"Joaquin, Toni and Brody."

"I know Joaquin," Jughead comments. "He lives a few trailers over. He is an asshole. He's always dealing to kids on the Northside."

Veronica shrugs. "Gotta make money somehow. He coukd be a really nice guy, you don't know."

"Well maybe we should find out. Make some friends, add some more members to the shitty, teenage-Avengers," Cheryl suggests.

"I don't know," Jughead says, sounding nervous. "You guys probably shouldn't be hanging out on the Southside."

Cheryl rolls her eyes. "Why? Because we didn't grow up in a trailer park and get street-smarts like you, Danny Zuko?"

"Whatever, Cheryl," Jughead shoots back. "A rich girl like you wouldn't be able to handle-"

There's a bloodcurdling scream in the hallway, cutting Jughead off. They all turn towards the noise and Archie's blood runs cold.

"What _is_ that?" Cheryl asks quietly, voice shaking with fear.

They sit, perfectly still, waiting. It's silent for a moment, and Archie can only hear the thumping of his own pulse, when suddenly there's another scream and the sound of footsteps racing down the hallway.

Miss Grundy appears in the doorway, face contorted into a grotesque snarl, eyes yellow. Archie grabs the lamp beside him, brandishing it in one hand as he pushes Betty behind him.

"Get back," he shouts at the others, eyes focused on Grundy.

She's breathing heavily, body hunched over and gaze locked on his. She's more beast, than human, and Archie has no doubt this is the result of the storm.

They stand in silence, watching each other, until suddenly, Grundy's head snaps back and she lets out a terrifying scream. The girls scream behind him, cowering in fear, and Archie tries to psyche himself up.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he mutters to himself as Grundy crouches down, looking like a predator about to attack it's prey.

He tightens his grip on the lamp and just as Grundy looks ready to spring, a dark figure appears in the doorway, baseball bat in hand. He swings it down onto her head, smashing through her skull.

Archie stumbles back to the rest of the group, watching as the man beats Grundy with the bat, blood and brain matter flying everywhere.

The man pauses, hunched over and panting for breath, bat still clutched between his hands, now soaked in blood. He looks up at them all, face obscured by a dark mask and voice muffled.

"Get out of here!" he shouts.

They grab their things quickly, exiting through the other door and out into the hallway. Archie glances back before he leaves, watches the man hook his arms beneath Grundy's limp body and drag her out into the hallway.

"What just happened in there?" Veronica cries, slumped against the front of her car. "Why does all this crazy shit keeping happening to us?!"

"That fucking storm is the worst thing that ever happened," Cheryl shouts, voice full of anger but hands shaking with fear.

"That was the guy - the guy in the mask. He saved us! He knew Grundy was going to turn into that- that thing."

Jughead's right. The guy did know - his timing had been perfect.

"This is so fucked up. We just witnessed a murder! What the hell do we do now?"

"We do nothing." They all turn to Betty. She had been quiet since they left the building but now her voice is clear, firm and lacking in emotion. "We don't say anything, to anybody. We just pretend it never happened and let the guy handle it."

"So we just... forget about it?" Veronica asks quietly.

"We have to," Betty replies. "But we don't need to worry. The guy in the mask - he'll protect us."

Archie doesn't know where her confidence in this guy is coming from but he's not going to argue with her. If he could take care of it and make it all go away, Archie wasn't about to stop him.

 

 

 

Veronica lies back against her silky sheets, the events of the evening still weighing on her.

"How has this become our lives?"

Cheryl snorts and drops down beside her, head propped up on her hand.

"I don't know, but it's fucked up. And I say that as someone who's father killed her brother."

Veronica turns to her, a sad smile on her face.

"This is so much worse for you. You had the worst year of your life and now this! It's like you can't catch a break."

"Aw, shucks. Are you worried about me, Ronnie?" Cheryl teases but Veronica doesn't think it's funny.

"I'm serious, Cheryl. You've had a rough couple of years."

Cheryl's eyebrows pull together, as her gaze falls to the comforter.

"It's weird," she says softly, fingertip tracing patterns in the silk. "I don't think I ever had a real friend before you. And I- I don't know what it's like to have people actually care about you."

Veronica sighs, heart breaking. Cheryl could be awful, could cut a person down and destroy their self-esteem with only a few words. But she was also damaged. Her parents never loved her like they were supposed to and the only person that had ever really cared about her was murdered by their father.

Cheryl needed someone on her side, someone to care about her, and Veronica would happily be that person.

"Well, I care about you now and there's nothing you can do about it," Veronica declares and for effect, sticks out her tongue.

Cheryl laughs, full lips stretched wide and Veronica likes her best like this. She should always be smiling.

She falls back against the bed and turns to Veronica with a smile. As she meets it with one of her own, Veronica hand slips into hers and links their fingers together.

 

 

 

The knock on her window startles her, her hand flying up to the base of her throat. She turns, surprised to find Jughead looking at her through the glass, but as she gets closer, she realizes it isn't Jughead - it's Future Jughead, in that same hoodie.

She slides the window up and lets him inside without a second thought. It's poor judgement on her part, letting this almost-stranger into her bedroom, but she doesn't think any version of Jughead would ever hurt her.

"Hi," he says quietly, as he comes to stand in front of her.

His eyes find hers immediately, that electric blue just as intense as she remembers. A small smile pulls at his lips. Unconsciously, she smiles back.

"Hi."

"How are you?"

"I'm okay," she replies, voice so soft it's almost inaudible. "What are you doing here?"

"I have something for you," he says and takes her hand in his.

She jumps at the contact, still surprised by his ability to touch her, and watches as he drops a silver necklace into her hand.

"My necklace," she breathes out. "I didn't even know I'd lost it."

"You left it at my place," he explains, his fingers folding over hers until the necklace is clasped in her hand. He lingers, fingers brushing against hers before he pulls them away.

"Thank you," she says sincerely.

"It's okay. I'm actually kind of glad you lost it," he says with a sheepish smile. "It gave me a reason to see you again."

Her teeth press into her lip as she tries to suppress a sigh. She can feel herself getting swept up in him, in his admissions and his gestures. His eyes follow the movement, watching her mouth. She quickly changes the subject.

"What you did for us... Miss Grundy..." She swallows, thinking of the beaten, bloody teacher. "Will it be okay? Will anyone find out?"

"It's taken care of," he states, tone suggesting she shouldn't ask anymore questions. "You don't need to worry about it."

She nods, worries immediately alleviated. She's not sure why, but she believes him. He isn't lying to make her feel better.

"She was the one who tried to hit me with the car, wasn't she?"

"Yes."

"That thing she turned into... What was that?"

"Our powers seem to manifest because of existing aspects of our life or personality," he begins. "Grundy wasn't a good person - she likes them young, as they." Betty's eyebrows raise at that as Jughead grimaces. "I guess the storm brought out the darkness in her, in the worst way."

The most horrifying way, she thinks, as she pictures the snarling, hunched creature she had become.

Something he said catches her attention. "What about me and my power? Where does that come from?"

"We're not quite sure. You always thought it had something to do with your anxiety and... wanting a real connection with someone."

She swallows thickly. That was something she only thought in private, had never shared with another person. It was things like this - the little hints of the intimacy they had obviously shared in his time - that made her stomach do somersaults.

"I wish I understood all of this."

He reaches up to brush a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear and then resting his hand along her neck. Her skin tingles where he touched her. Pleasant tingles that make her want to sigh and lean into his touch, that make her desperate for more contact.

"Me, too, baby."

The name falls from his lips so easily and surprisingly, it doesn't sound strange to her. It sounds almost natural, like Jughead's been calling her 'baby' for years.

There's a beep then, interrupting the moment, and Betty takes a step back, away from his hand. He looks down at his watch with a frown.

"I have to go."

"Is that why you have all of these clocks in your apartment? Are they counting down to certain events?"

"Some things have to happen at certain times." He smiles, slight and sad, and brushes the backs of his fingers against her cheek. "Come and find me when you're ready. I'll be waiting."

She doesn't know what she's supposed to be ready for but she doesn't question it, just watches him slip out of her window, the same way he came in.

She takes a seat at her vanity and clasps the necklace around her neck, fingers reaching up to touch the bird pendant in the center.

She stares at her reflection in the mirror and is surprised by what she sees. Flushed cheeks, wide pupils, parted lips. Almost like a woman who has just been kissed, but she hasn't been kissed in a long time. That must be why a caress of her cheek could make her feel so fucking good.

 

 

 

Archie is surprised, to say the least, when he finds out Kevin is dating Joaquin. Kevin was the Sheriff's son, a good kid through and through, and now he was hooking up with the Southside's number one dealer. This couldn't end well.

He convinces Kevin to let him tag along to the Southside party he's going to that weekend. He's intrigued by the group he met in the trailer and wants to know more. Were they also being followed by a masked man? Did they have crazy teachers trying to kill them?

The party is in a rundown house, not far from the trailer park. The front yard is lined with wired fencing, one of the front windows is boarded up, and there's a vicious dog chained up in the corner, snarling behind it's muzzle.

"This place looks sketchy, Kev. Are you sure we should be here?"

Kevin rolls his eyes. "Lighten up, Archibald. You're gonna have fun. Trust me."

They push through the crowd inside. The house is small, packed wall-to-wall with people. There's a thick fog of smoke hanging over them and music is blasting from the speakers.

They find Joaquin in the kitchen and Kevin greets him with a kiss. He looks starry-eyed, completely infatuated, and Archie begins to reconsider everything he thought he knew about Kevin Keller.

"J, you know, Archie."

He lifts his beer in salute. "Sup, Red. Surprised to see you in a place like this."

"Yeah, well, I'm trying new things. Getting out of my comfort zone."

Joaquin smirks, but doesn't say anything else, and takes a long sip of his beer. Archie looks around the room, hoping to find a beer for himself, when he feels two hands clutching his waist.

"Told ya we'd meet again."

Archie spins around, coming face to face with Toni. She smiles up at him, dark eyes made darker by the heavy makeup surrounding them, and Archie swallows thickly as he meets her eye. She was definitely trouble.

"Hey, Toni. How's it going?"

" _Fan_ -tastic," she smiles. "Wanna have some fun?"

"Uh, sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Come with me," she demands, taking his hand in hers and pulling him into another room. It's dark in there, a single lamp the only source of light, and there's less people around. The three guys on the floor are smoking, the bubbling of the bong just audible over the music.

"You ever done ecstasy, Red?" she asks him casually as she slips her hand into her back pocket. He shakes his head. "Wanna try it?"

He hesitates. "Uh..."

"Come on, Red. It'll just take the edge off. It's fun, I promise." She winks at him.

Other than the occasional toke of a joint at parties, Archie's never been much of a fan of drugs. But taking the edge off sounded really good right now. His life was spiralling out of control lately, every aspect of it being thrown into disarray. It probably wasn't a smart idea, but if a pill could make him forget his troubles for a little while, he didn't see the harm.

"Okay, lets do it."

She grins and bounces on her feet in excitement as she drops the pill into the palm of his hand. He throws it back, dry-swallowing.

"Lets get you a drink," she suggests, pulling him back towards the kitchen.

"Wait, wait. Toni!" She stops to look up at him, waiting. "How long does it take to kick in?"

"About a half hour. You'll know when it happens, believe me."

And he does. He really fucking does.

He's never experienced anything like it. He feels hyper, like a kid whose had too much sugar, multiplied by a thousand. He feels deliriously happy, happier than he has in so long - since the goddamn storm.

Toni drags him into the throng on dancing people in the living room and he follows easily, wanting to dance, needing to dance.

He's hot and sweaty but he can't stop dancing, he can never stop. Smiling from ear to ear, he looks down at Toni, who looks as happy as he feels, and she was right. This _is_ fun.

He knows it's about to happen, even in his hyperactive state, can feel the drag on his body as time is suddenly suspended, pulling him back into the past. But he doesn't want to go back. He wants to stay here, in this moment.

He tries to make sense of his surroundings. He's in a different outfit, his jeans and t-shirt replaced with a grey suit, a pink flower attached to his pocket. He's in an unfamiliar place, too, a house he's never seen before but definitely on the Southside.

"Archie?"

The voice grabs his attention and he turns, seeking the source. It's Toni - dressed up in a long, black dress, a pretty smile on her face.

"I'm so excited," she tells him. "My first real prom."

He watches in confusion as she then rises up on her toes, her arms wrapping around his neck. Before he can stop her, before he can push her away, her lips are pressed against his, her tongue slipping into his mouth.

Driven by instinct, he kisses her back, his hands grasping at her waist.

She pulls away with a hum, hands sliding down his body and she drops to her normal height.

"Come on, lover boy." She tugs at his tie. "We don't want to be late."

He comes to in the living room, the party still raging on around him. He feels breathless, like he's just run a marathon and the high is still coursing through his veins.

"You okay?" Toni shouts.

A huge smile spreads across his face.

"I'm amazing!" he yells back and the laugh she lets out sounds like bells, beautiful and clear.

His body is moving to the music - still dancing, always dancing - and he watches her move in front of him, mesmerized by the swish of her pink hair.

In that moment, it all becomes clear.

That wasn't the past. That was the future.

 

 

 

"So you were... together, in this vision?"

Archie nods. He's been wearing a guilty look since she first entered his home. She's not sure what he has to be guilty about. It's not like he cheated on her. He just saw into the future and, well, they weren't dating in it.

"And you want to be with her? Toni?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. I don't even know her."

"But you were happy, right? Happier than we've been for the past couple of months."

"Yeah," he admits quietly. He meets her eye, his own full of apologies. "I'm so sorry, Betts. I didn't want it to end like this. Part of me didn't want it to end at all."

Betty smiles sadly and reaches out to take his hand in hers.

"It's okay, Arch. We had a good run and I'll always be proud to say Archie Andrews was my first love." He smiles at that. "But you're right. We haven't been happy, not since the storm. Things are different now. _I'm_ different now."

"Your still one of my favorite people in the world."

She pulls him into a hug then, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She breathes him in, getting one last hit of his familiar scent. She knew this was the right thing to do - their relationship had run it's course - but she would miss him.

"What's Toni like? Is she nice?" she asks as they pull away.

He chuckles. "She's... interesting. Fun. Definitely gonna keep me on my toes."

Betty laughs, wondering how he's going to handle that. She had been a pretty laid-back girlfriend. Dating someone so different from her could be really good for Archie.

As they fall into silence, Archie nudges her shoulder with his.

"We're still friends, right?"

"Of course we are, Arch." She smiles. "We've known each other since we were four years old. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

 

 

 

When the elevator doors open, Jughead is already waiting for her. He's wearing a black vest and sweatpants, his hair falling into his eyes, but not shielding their ever present intensity.

She walks towards him, meeting his gaze with her own.

"Me and Archie broke up," she says, no greetings or pleasantries. Her lips quirk up into a humorless smile. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry," he replies and she snorts.

"No, you're not."

She pauses in front of him, so close that his breaths ghost across her skin when he exhales.

He smirks. "No. I'm not."

She licks her lips, keeping her eyes steady on his.

"So what happens now?" she asks softly.

"What do you want to happen?"

Her stomach knots up. The nerves she'd felt since she left Archie, since she decided to come to the apartment, increase tenfold. If she was honest with herself, she knew why she was here. But the reality of it - being stood directly in front of him - was a lot to take in.

"I don't know," is her soft response; a lie, but this is unfamiliar territory for her.

He steps closer then, closing the small remaining distance between them. Her breath catches in her throat at the proximity. He reaches up slowly, cupping her face in his hand. She knows what he's going to do and watches intently as he leans in, moving forward to meet him halfway.

The first press of his lips to hers is soft, almost like a whisper. He pulls back just slightly but she leans into him, chasing his lips. She can feel his smile against her mouth as he kisses her again, firmer this time. He sucks softly on her bottom lip before he slips his tongue inside, the sensation making her gasp.

Her whole body is humming like a live wire. She's been kissed before, many times, before never like this.

With a tug on the bottom of his shirt, she lifts it up and over his head, exposing his torso. A long silver chain lies in the center of his chest, a key attached to the end.

Her hands move across the planes of his chest and stomach, feeling the muscle there, and up to his neck, fingers tangling in the soft hair at his nape. They kiss languidly, in no hurry, and Betty is lost. Lost in the kiss, lost in the pleasure, lost in him.

His hands slide from her face, sweeping down her body, until he's gripping the backs of her thighs. A noise escapes her as he lifts her up against his body, her legs locking around his waist.

He carries her over to his bed, lays her down on it and covers her body with his. His lips press kisses to her jaw, her neck, her collarbones, mouth only leaving her skin to remove articles of clothing from her body. He continues down, down, skirt pulled past her hips and down her legs. He continues his path until his lips are at her hipbones, teasing her with possibility.

"Jug, please," she moans, fingers sliding through his hair.

He looks up at her from his place between her thighs, eyes hazy with lust. It's an expression she's never seen on his face before and it only makes her slicker between her thighs.

A soft kiss to the inside of her knee, and then he hooks his fingers into the sides of her panties, pulling them down her legs. Usually she'd be embarrassed - she's completely exposed to him now - but the pure want evident on his face gives her a surge of confidence. No ones ever looked at her like that before. She's never felt so desired.

She cries out at the first touch of his tongue, fingers curling to tug at his hair. No one has ever done this to her, has made her feel this good. Being this close to him is already overwhelming, and the way he is working her body, as if he knows exactly how to touch her - and really, he does - is almost too much.

Her hips move restlessly, seeking friction, desperate to reach that high. And she does, with his name on her lips - a name she never expected to cry out as concentrated pleasure coursed through her body.

He watches her from the end of the bed as she catches her breath, lips slightly wet with her. He removes his sweatpants before moving back over her body, hands braced next to her shoulders, eyes flickering over her face. There's a soft smile on his lips as he lifts one hand to stroke her flushed cheek.

"You're so beautiful," he murmurs, before kissing the line of her jaw.

She hums, still experiencing the aftershocks of her orgasm, and slides her fingers across the back of his neck.

"I want to be with you," she says softly, neck arching as he kisses down her throat. "I want you inside me."

He moans against her skin and grinds against her, his length sliding against he heat of her. She gasps at the sensation. He's so close, but not close enough.

He lifts his head and cups her face in his hand, thumb sliding across her bottom lip. Electric blue meets green and she almost can't stand to look at him, the magnitude of what their doing hitting her all at once.

"I love you," he tells her, as if it is a fact, a thing she must already know, and then pulls a gasp from her throat as he slides inside.

 

 

 

After, they lie together, her head cushioned against his bicep. There's a small, serene smile on his face and it's so beautiful, it makes Betty's heart ache. She's never seen Jughead - future or present - look so happy, so content.

Her fingertips trace a path from his temple to the point of his chin.

"I can't believe I just had sex with you," she murmurs and they both laugh softly. "This is so weird. You're a virgin, right now."

"Not for much longer."

She raises one eyebrow, amusement pulling up the corners of her lips.

"Do you lose it with me?"

His looks away from her, watches the path of his hand as he tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. He shakes his head.

Disappointment washes over her and her face falls just slightly. It's hard to wrap her head around the constant shift of her emotions. Just a few hours earlier, she'd never so much as kissed Jughead, and now she was sad that his first time would be with someone who wasn't her.

"Are you jealous?" he asks and she can hear the amusement in his voice.

She scoffs, turning to stare up at the ceiling. "No."

He catches her chin with his fingers, gently turning her face back towards him. The serene smile is there again.

"I like it that you're jealous."

She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling, too. Jealousy still swirled in her stomach but she pushed it down. She was here with him now and she wasn't going to let the future dampen the present.

As his thumb strokes her cheekbone, she tips her chin up to catch his lips in a soft kiss. She had a few hours until she needed to be home, and she wanted to spend them right here, with him, just like this.

 

 

 

Another weekend, another Southside party. Reggie had already picked up on the allure of the Southside for Archie and offered to accompany him to any future parties. He had a reputation as a great wingman to uphold, after all.

He does a quick sweep of the house, beer in hand, and spots her in the living room. She's sat on the couch, boots propped up on the coffee table, joint in hand. She laughs at something the girl next to her says - a petite chick with platinum blonde hair that Archie doesn't recognize - head tipping back as wisps of smoke escape her mouth.

Archie pushes through the crowd in the living room to reach her and she smirks as soon as she sees him. She pushes up from the sofa, joint still in hand, and closes the remaining distance between them.

"Hey, Red."

He smiles down at her. She was so much shorter than him and he liked the difference in their height.

"Hey, Toni. How's it going?"

"Pretty good." She holds the joint out to him. "Want a hit?"

"No, thanks," he says. "I actually came over to talk to you. I have something I need to say."

She raises her eyebrows, expectantly. "Out with it then."

"I've been to the future."

She laughs. "Oh, really?"

He smirks. "Yes, really. And you and me - we're gonna be together."

A look of shock passes over her face briefly but she recovers quickly. "Is that so?"

He nods. "Yep."

It's quiet for a beat and he shifts uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze. Then, a slight quirk at the corners of her lips.

"I can hardly wait," she tells him, then wraps a hand around his neck and pulls him close enough to press her lips to his.

 

 

 

Betty reaches out blindly, making a disgruntled noise as she finds the other side of the bed empty. She sits up, still half-asleep, and looks out across the apartment. He's stood in front of the timer on his wall, arms folded across his chest, completely lost in thought - a position she often finds him in.

She rises from the bed, wrapping his hoodie around her body as she goes.

"Hey," she murmurs, hand sliding across his bare shoulders and up to his neck. "What time is it?"

"5am."

"What are you doing up? It's too early for you to be worrying about your superhero duties," she teases.

He smiles at her and kisses her cheek.

Her hand slides down to rest at the bottom of his back. "We have an hour until I need to sneak home, so I really think you should come back to bed."

He doesn't say anything, just presses his lips to hers and backs them towards the bed, his hoodie discarded on the floor along the way.

When 6am rolls around, she reluctantly pulls herself from his arms and slips back into her pajamas. She's been doing this for weeks now - sneaking out through her window when her parents went to sleep and spending her nights in Jughead's bed - but she still gets nervous when she has to go back. She's waiting for the morning she finds her furious mother in her bedroom, asking where she's been.

"I really don't want to go," she sighs, fingers linked behind his neck.

He smiles at up at her, hands planted on her hips as he pulls her closer, between his legs.

"I'd keep you here all day if I could, but you know we can't."

She's seconds away from pouting. "I'll miss you. I'll come over as soon as practice is done."

His eyes sparkle with mischief. "You in that little cheerleading skirt? I'll be waiting right here, baby."

She giggles and leans down to kiss him. It's a goodbye kiss but she can never stop at just a peck.

The rest of her day continues without fanfare. She successfully sneaks back in and is out the door, heading to school, at her usual time without any suspicion.

She still works hard, ever the dedicated student, but she often finds herself caught up in memories of the night before, or in darker moments, thoughts of how this could end. She's so gone on Jughead, head over heels in a way she never was with Archie, but she's know this isn't permanent. He had to return to his present, eventually.

Seeing the present-Jughead was still weird. She's gotten good at not staring at him for too long and she really enjoys their friendship, but she essentially knew more about him than he knew about himself, and that was hard to handle.

It's not difficult to separate the two of them - while not drastically different from his future self, the differences are significant enough that she never gets them confused. Part of her often wonders how this Jughead will ever become the man she spends her nights with.

She finds him in the break room before she heads to practice, hunched over a textbook, face pinched with concentration.

"It's called homework for a reason, Jug."

He startles at the sound of her voice but smiles at her when he recovers. "Yeah, well, my home isn't exactly the ideal environment to be writing an essay on The Grapes of Wrath."

She winces as she drops down into the armchair. He often spoke in an unaffected tone when mentioning his home-life but she knew things weren't great from him. Over the last few months, he and Archie had become surprisingly close and he had told him about his father's issues with alcohol. Archie had then told Betty, but had sworn her to secrecy, and now she had to pretend that she didn't know the details whenever he brought it up.

"Well if you need any help, let me know. And I'm sure Archie wouldn't mind if you went over to his to study," she suggests.

"Yeah, you're probably right." He smiles. "Thanks, Betts."

"No problem." She checks the time on the clock overhead. "I've gotta go, but Jug?" He looks up at her again. "I mean it. If you ever need any help, with anything, I'm here."

He looks almost embarrassed, eyes dropping to his textbook, but nods. "Thank you, Betty."

 

 

 

Veronica's eyebrows pinch together in concern as she sees the worried look on Betty's face. She drops down into the seat next to Kevin as she listens in on the group's conversation.

"We can go this weekend, all six of us," Archie says.

"I don't think going to the Southside is the best idea, Arch. And the Whyte Wyrm is rough. We don't know what could happen in there."

Archie rolls his eyes. "Nothing's gonna happen to us, Betts. Joaquin and Toni will be with us and they know everyone there."

Betty doesn't argue but her mouth presses into a thin line. She clearly doesn't agree.

_...No good can come from this. We need to leave him alone..._

"What's going on?" Veronica asks, needing to be in the loop. Whatever they were discussing was getting Betty worked up.

"Toni told Archie that we might be able to get some information about the guy in the mask. Some people on the Southside have seen him in the area. Archie wants us to go to the Whyte Wyrm to ask around," Jughead explains.

It definitely wasn't the best plan. Southsiders weren't exactly fond of people from the Northside and who knows what kind of situation they could be walking into at the worst dive bar in town. On the other hand, she was as intrigued as everyone else by the guy in the mask. If they could get some more information they might have a chance at finding out who he is.

"If we stick together, we'll be okay," she tries to reassure Betty. "Safety in numbers."

"Yeah, and if something bad happens, Human Torch over here can throw a fire ball at them and we book it out of there!"

Cheryl flips Jughead the bird and Veronica can't help but chuckle. Cheryl shoots her an irritated look but it quickly melts into an amused smile.

Betty sighs. "Fine. If you're all going, then I'm going, too. But if things start to get crazy, we're out of there - immediately."

"Absolutely," Archie agrees easily.

Betty gives him a weak smile but her thoughts are still frantic. Veronica's wonders if there's more factors to her stress than just their impromptu trip to the Southside.

They filter out of the break room, Betty up front and walking quickly, leaving them all behind. She decides she needs to talk to her. She'd definitely been in a better mood the past few weeks, despite the break-up, but she didn't want her to fall down a dark path again. The month following the discovery of their powers had been rough for her and she had been in a dark place.

She pushes through the crowd of students in the hallway, carefully dodging out of Dilton Doiley's path as he runs to the bathroom, bloody nose cradled in his hand. Others move aside to the let him past, creating a clear pathway, and Veronica totters on her heels as she closes the distance between her and Betty.

"B!" she calls out, and Betty turns, giving her a smile that doesn't quite meet her eyes.

"What's up, V?"

"I just wanted to talk," she says, catching her by the hand and pulling her over to an empty bank of lockers. "You seemed upset in there. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," she insists, but Veronica's still not convinced. Betty's thoughts are guarded now, harder to make out, and she knows she's trying to keep something from her. "I guess I'm just nervous about going to the Whyte Wyrm. But I know we all have each other's backs."

Veronica smiles and is about to speak when she feels a hand brush against her arm. She looks up to see Cheryl walking past them, a smirk on her red lips.

"Better get your leather skirt out of your wardrobe for Saturday."

"And what if I don't own a leather skirt?"

Cheryl scoffs. "Oh, please. You're like rich-girl Wednesday Addams. Of course you have a leather skirt."

Damnit, she kind of had her there.

"Are you done teasing me? Don't you have a class to go to?"

"Lighten up, Ronnie. I always thought Cristina Ricci was kind of hot," she says with a wink.

Veronica can feel Betty's eyes on them, watching the exchange, and she fears she's about to blush. She doesn't, of course - Veronica _never_ blushed, and especially not over harmless flirting - but it still unnerves her that Betty is witnessing their conversation.

"If you don't mind, I'm trying to talk to Betty," she says impatiently.

Cheryl rolls her eyes. "Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow. Slumming it with the Scooby Gang is gonna be so much fun!" she adds with fake enthusiasm.

Veronica smiles despite herself and watches her walk away, hips swaying and curls bouncing.

Betty clears her throat and Veronica tears her eyes away.

"What?" she asks defensively.

An amused smile pulls at Betty's lips. "Nothing. Just didn't realize you and Cheryl hadn't gotten so close."

She tries to play it down. "Yeah, well, when you spend more time around her, she kind of gets under your skin. Like a splinter."

Betty laughs. "Okay. If you say so."

"I do." She takes Betty's hands in hers and levels her with a look. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't have to come tomorrow night if you don't want to. I know seeing Archie and his new girl might be too hard-"

"It's fine, honestly. And I'm happy for Archie. I'm glad he's moving on."

Veronica observes her for a moment. Her thoughts are still guarded and messy, but she doesn't seem to be lying.

"I will say, you've seemed a lot happier since the break up," she comments. "If I don't know any better, I'd think you had a new man in your life."

Betty's expression falters for a second but she recovers so quick Veronica wonders if she imagined it.

She smiles. "Come on, V. You know I'd tell you if I was dating again."

Before the storm, this would have been a given. They were best friends and they shared everything with each other. But now, she notes the dullness of Betty's usually bright eyes and the slight downturn of her mouth.

She may not be lying about her dating life, but she was definitely hiding something.

 

 

 

"We should go away somewhere. A weekend away, just the two of us."

He looks over at her from his position at his desk. "Where would you wanna go?"

"New York, maybe. We live so close but I've never been."

He smiles softly. "I'll take you one day."

She breaks out into a broad grin. They were making future plans and she couldn't be happier. She was never sure where their relationship was going and how long he could stay in this time, but him making plans had to mean something.

She can feel his eyes on her as she moves to stand in front of the mirror, watching as she tightens and smooths her ponytail.

"What?" she smiles, catching in his eye in the reflection of the mirror.

"Nothing." He gives her a slight smile and closes the space between them. He presses his body up against her back, leans down to kiss her shoulder. "Do you really have to go tonight? You could just stay here with me."

Betty sighs and turns to face him. She presses her hands against chest and looks up at him, noting the worry on his face. He was always so concerned about her safety, almost paranoid about her getting hurt. She wasn't exactly thrilled about going to the Whyte Wyrm but she wouldn't be alone. She'd be okay.

"You know I do. If I don't go, I'll let everyone down and they'll probably start asking questions."

He smiles sadly and runs his hand through her hair.

"I'm sorry for making you keep secrets from them. I know it's hard for you."

"You told me that I can't tell them who you are. If that's what I need to do to keep you safe, then I don't care about keeping secrets."

"It's not about keeping me safe," he says, sharply. " _I'm_ protecting _you_. Protecting all of them."

"I know you are." She cups his face in her hands. "But I want to protect you, too."

His eyes fall closed as he drops his head, forehead resting against hers.

"Hey," she says softly. "Are you okay? You seem off today. Not like yourself."

He pulls back to look at her and gives her a smile, but Betty is unconvinced. All morning he's been like this - wistful looks and lingering touches, like this is the last time they're going to see each for awhile. It's making Betty nervous, a quiet dread pulling at her stomach.

"I'm fine," he tries to assure her.

She knows she won't get any information out of him if she presses him, so she decides to go back to lighter conversation.

"You know, it's really hard to lie to Veronica. I think of random things around her, like you told me to, but sometimes, when I can't stop myself from thinking about you, I wonder if she's found me out."

His mouth ticks up in a smirk. "Think about me often, Betts?"

She rolls her eyes but smiles. "Oh, come on. You're telling me you don't think about me when we're apart?"

"I do," he answers, serious now. "All the time. Everyday."

She kisses him, his intensity making desire pool low in her stomach. His mouth is warm and insistent against hers. Every time he kisses her, it's like it's never enough.

"I should probably go," she murmurs as she pulls away.

"One sec," he tells her and steps out of their embrace to lift the chain around his neck over his head. He drops it into her palm, closes her hand around the metal. "It's a key to the apartment, so you can let yourself in whenever you want."

"Really?" she grins. It's so grown up, having a key to your boyfriend's apartment. "Awesome."

She slips the chain over her head, tucks it beneath her sweater. His fingers run across the chain where it lies across her collarbones and she shivers at the light touch.

"I'll see you later."

With one last peck, she moves away to walk to the door but he pulls her back before she can leave. His hands cup her face as he kisses her, hard and passionate, a kiss so good it makes her toes curl in her boots and leaves her breathless.

She meets his eyes as he pulls away, pupils blown and his eyes a stormy blue.

"Wow," she laughs. "Kiss me like that again and you might convince me to stay."

He doesn't laugh with her, just pulls her closer.

"Are you really okay, Juggie?"

"I'm okay."

She sighs and steps away from him. "Alright, mystery man. I really have to go but I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." He runs the backs of his fingers across her cheek. "I love you, Betty."

The quiet dread gets louder, threatening to consume her. Something is definitely wrong.

"I love you, too."

She walks away then and steps into the elevator, catching one last glimpse of his somber face before the doors close.

 

 

 

Jughead slips the items into the envelope - a stack of bills, notepaper with a list, a key. He seals it up and scrawls a date onto the front, along with the message:

_If all goes wrong on this date, open this envelope. The contents inside will help you. You'll know what to do._

He leaves the envelope in the top left drawer of the dresser - his drawer, full of t-shirts and sweaters, a drawer Betty never opens.

With one last look over the apartment, he zips up his hoodie and pulls the mask down over his face. The lights go down and the elevator doors close, and Jughead prepares himself for the night ahead.

 

 

 

Betty changes into one of Veronica's black tops before she enters the bar. She can't exactly walk into a biker bar in a pastel sweater. The top is long-sleeved but cropped, showing far more skin than she usually would. In fact, it's the opposite of what she would usually wear, but going to a bar on the Southside isn't what she'd usually be doing, so she supposes it works.

Archie leads the group with Toni under his arm, and Kevin follows behind with Jughead. Veronica links her arms through Betty's and Cheryl's, keeping them close as they enter unchartered territory.

Toni leads them over to a group of guys by the pool table. All of them are covered in tattoos and a few have long beards. One guy in particular stares at them with interest, his eyes raking over the length of her. Betty suppresses a shiver. They were all intimidating but Toni is unfazed, approaching them with the same confidence she's seen every time they've met.

"Hey, Viper. These guys had a run-in with the guy in the mask last week. Do you know anything about this guy?"

Viper looks surprised. "He came up to you guys? I though the freak just hung around staring at people from rooftops."

"Yeah, he, uh..." Archie trails off, struggling to explain without incriminating them. "He broke into our school and helped us out of a tough spot."

"Huh. And here I thought he was just a creep." Viper lines up a shot but misses, the ball bouncing off the side of the table. "Goddamnit."

The guy who had been staring walks up to the table, throwing her a quick wink before he bends to take his shot. She quickly looks away.

"Look, kid," Viper addresses Toni. "I don't know what you want me to tell your friends. I've only seen this creep hanging around - I don't know anything about him." He turns to Archie then. "If I was you, I'd leave this alone. The man clearly doesn't want to be bothered, and if he's helping you guys out, then I'd respect that."

It was a dead-end, and Betty almost breaths a sigh of relief. Jughead was good at covering his tracks; she should have known that they wouldn't get any information tonight.

"So this was a waste of time," Jughead grumbles.

"At least stay for a drink," Toni suggests. "They don't care if you're legal here. You came all this way, you should have some fun."

The group exchange glances. Betty has no intention of staying but Cheryl does.

She shrugs her shoulders. "Why not? Can't have this night becoming a complete disappointment. Can I get a vodka soda here or do they just sell cheap beer and moonshine?"

Toni rolls her eyes. "Yes, Princess, you can get a vodka soda. What about you guys?"

"Fuck it," Jughead says. "I could go for a beer."

"Me, too," Archie adds.

"I'll have what she's having." Veronica points at Cheryl and winks. "B?" she asks, and they all turn to her.

"I'm good. I think I'm just gonna go."

"Come on, B," Veronica runs her hand across her arm. "It'll be fun! We can let loose a little."

"Really, I'm okay. But you guys stay. Have a good night."

Veronica opens her mouth to protest some more but she's cut off by the sound of glass smashing behind them. They all turn to watch the fight that's breaking out at the end of the bar, one man laying punch and punch into another man's stomach, blood already spilling from the cut by his eye.

"Okay, I'm out of here," Betty says, turning away from the scene, the sounds of fists hitting flesh clear behind her. "I'll see you guys on Monday."

Veronica catches her elbow before she can leave. "Do you want us to walk you to your car?"

"I'll be fine. You guys have fun... I guess." She grimaces, not sure how that was even possible in this place.

It's lightly raining when she gets outside. She crosses her arms across her chest, trying to obtain some warmth as she walks to her car. As she steps out into the parking lot, something pulls at her gut - a sick feeling, like the dread she felt at Jughead's apartment earlier, but it's for a whole other reason this time. It feels like someone is watching her and chill runs down her spine.

She moves quickly, trying to stay in the small path of light coming from the building, but it's still too dark for her to see clearly. Her shoes click against the pavement, her footsteps moving faster with every passing minute, until suddenly a hand covers her mouth, stopping her in her tracks.

Panic seizes her as she tries to scream but only a small, muffled sound comes out. He can touch her, too, the leather gloves he's wearing acting as a barrier against her skin. It only makes her panic more - she had no defence against this man.

She's pulled back into the alley behind the bar, his body pressed against her.

"You better keep your mouth shut, girl," the man murmurs into her ear, his hot breath cascading across her neck and making her skin crawl.

She cringes away from him but it's no use, as he forcibly pushes her up against the wall, pinning her against it with his hands on her forearms. Recognition dawns as his face comes into view - it's one of the guys from the pool table, the one who had been watching her.

"So pretty," he murmurs as his eyes run over her and Betty's fight-instinct kicks in.

She rips of her arms from his grasp and covers his face with her hand. His body begins to convulse as the electrical current is pumped through him, sparks flying from her fingertips.

He stumbles away from her, eye wide. 

His hand releases her arm but the feeling is quickly replaced with the press of metal against her skin. She doesn't need to look down to know he has a knife.

"I don't know what the fuck you just did, but you better not do it again."

A tear escapes as she sobs, "Please. Please don't hurt me." 

Her eyes squeeze shut, not wanting to see his face for another second.

"Well that's not something I can prom-"

His voice cuts off as he lets out a groan of pain and his weight is pulled away from her. Her eyes fly open, shocked to see the man on the floor, blood pouring from a wound in his stomach, and Jughead stood over him, chest heaving and a knife in his hand.

He kicks the guy once, twice, each blow punctuated with a groan of pain, before turning to her. His hands cup her face, forcing her to look at him as his eyes dart all over, checking for any signs that she's been hurt.

"You're okay, baby," he murmurs in a low, soothing voice. "It's over now. You're fine."

"Juggie," she cries as the sobs take over, shaking her whole body.

"It's over, Betty. I promise," he says fiercely.

She reaches out to him, to pull him closer, when he suddenly stills.

"Juggie?"

Her eyes widen in horror as she watches a trickle of blood spill from his lips. Behind him, the man watches, a sadistic smile on his face as he falls back against the opposite wall, still clutching his wound. A blood-stained knife hangs limply from his hand.

"Oh my god. Oh, fuck!"

Jughead collapses against her, and she falls to the floor, unable to withstand his weight. She cradles his head in her lap, vision blurring as she cries. Blood continues to pour from his mouth, staining his teeth. She lifts a shaking hand to push his hair back from his quickly paling face.

"Juggie, no! You can't leave me!" she cries as she hunches over him, trying to hold him closer.

"I'll still be here," he murmurs, lids fluttering over hazy eyes.

"No, no." She shakes her head as she begins to rock back and forth, high-pitched gasps escaping her as she struggles to catch her breath. "I don't love him. I love you!"

"It's you falling in love with him, that makes him become me." Shaky fingers reach out to grasp her wrist. "It has to be this way or he'll never become who he's meant to be."

How can he say that as he lies dying in her arms? Nothing about this was right. There had to be a better way.

"You can't leave me!"

His grip on her wrist tightens. "Betty, listen to me. There's a can of gas behind the dumpster and a lighter in my pocket. You need to hide the evidence. No one can find our bodies here."

She cries harder as she realizes this is it - he was really going to leave her.

"I won't. I won't do it. You're not going to die," she declares. "We'll take you to a hospital. We'll get you help."

"It's too late for that." His eyes close briefly as he fights to keep them open, to remain conscious. He uses his last bit of strength to stroke her cheek. "I love you, Betty."

"I love you. I love you. Don't leave me."

His eyes close slowly and a final breath leaves him as his body goes lax in her arms. Her body shakes with the force of her sobs, her crying uncontrollable as she folds herself over him.

She remains there for what feels like hours, but is only a few minutes. With a final kiss to his forehead, to rises from the floor, sobs still leaving her mouth as she walks over to the dumpster.

It's a quick process, and in a matter of minutes all traces of the man she loves are being eliminated, every part of him up in flames.

As she drives away, face smeared with his blood and her tears, she forces herself not to look at the fire behind her. He was gone now; there was nothing there for her to see.

 

 

 

The lights flicker on as she steps into the apartment. She winces against the harsh brightness as she makes her way to the bathroom.

She scrubs vigorously at her hands and face, removing all traces of the night from her body. Her hands are pink and raw by the time she is finished, still trembling as she dries them with a towel.

She changes into her sweater, throwing Veronica's blood-soaked shirt into the trash. She'd think of an excuse in the morning.

Exhausted, Betty falls onto the bed, burying her face into the pillows. They smell like him, and if she had any tears left to shed, they would fall.

She slides her hands along the cool sheets and up under the pillow, pausing when she feels a piece of card beneath. She lifts the pillow to find the card and gasps when she sees it.

In her hands is a shiny photograph - Betty and Jughead wrapped around each other, smiling broadly with her head against his chest, and the Brooklyn Bridge towering behind them.

 


	3. part iii: erase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope everyone enjoyed the premiere! i loved it - what a start to the new season!!
> 
> almost at the end now and this one is a real rollercoaster. this chapter really focuses on jug and betty's relationship, but there's still some cheronica and toni/archie stuff in there.
> 
> also, a serious warning about guns and gun violence in this chapter if that's triggering for anyone. other warnings below.
> 
> warning: blood, violence, guns

When she gets to school on Monday, all the gang want to talk about is the fire that was started behind the Whyte Wyrm. She does her best to keep her expression neutral, and feigns surprise at all of the appropriate times as Kevin retells the events she missed.

"Joaquin says the Serpents are keeping it quiet. They don't want the cops sniffing around, especially when one of their own has just gone missing."

"One of the Serpents has gone missing?" She pulls her eyebrows together into a frown for effect.

"Yeah, Gunner. He left early on Saturday night and no one has seen him since."

"Weird," she responds, as Jughead comments, "Not a huge loss. My dad said he was a piece of shit."

The sound of his voice is enough to bring tears to her eyes. She blinks rapidly, willing them away, and tries to focus on the conversation.

"You're so lucky you left when you did, B. The night got... rough." Veronica grimaces. "I never want to witness another bar fight in my life."

"For real," Archie agrees. "But it wasn't all bad - Jug here had a pretty good night."

He elbows Jughead in the side and winks at him. Jughead looks down in embarrassment but there's a smile on his face. Betty's stomach twists unpleasantly.

"Toni's blonde friend?" Cheryl asks and he nods. Her lips quirk into a smile that looks both proud and amused. "Well done, Jones. She was hot."

Betty knows it's jealousy that she's feeling, but it's still so weird to her. She doesn't love this Jughead. She views him as her friend and nothing more. Of course she occasionally catches herself staring at him and sometimes he'll say something just like _her_ Jughead, but it's not the same. He's not the same - at least, not yet.

That being said, it would crush her to see him with somebody else.

She'd spent her weekend in bed, mourning a man that never should have existed in her reality. The grief is intense and unexpected - Betty's never really dealt with loss before, and definitely not the loss of someone she cares so deeply about.

She'd also spent time thinking about her relationship with the present-Jughead. She wasn't going to pursue him. Things had to happen at certain times, Jughead had said, and she feared that trying to force things would cause trouble in the future.

She would seek him out though, inevitably. How could she not, when he was the living, breathing version of the person she had lost?

The bell rings at the end of lunch and the gang filter out of the room, off to class. Betty hangs back, waits for Jughead as he packs his stuff into his bag.

"What's up, Betts? Something happening with the Blue and Gold?"

She shakes her head. "Nope, I just... I just wanted to talk to you."

"Oh." His brow furrows. "Okay."

"How was the rest of your night on Saturday?"

"It was good." There's an almost-dreamy smile on his face. "Really good, actually. I know Archie was teasing me but I really like this girl. She's cool."

She swallows. "Oh, yeah? What's her name?"

"Sabrina. She lives in Greendale but she hangs out on the Southside all the time. She's Toni's best friend."

"Cool." She smiles but it feels forced and she hopes he doesn't notice. "Well, I'm happy for you. Any girl would be lucky to have you, Jug."

He looks more confused by her compliment and she knows she's laying it on too thick. It's strange - it's like she's forgotten how to be his friend.

"Okay... well, thanks, Betts." He looks embarrassed again, his hair falling into his eye as he quickly looks away from her. "I should probably get to class. I'll see you later."

"Yeah," she says quietly. "See you later."

He throws her a small smile before he walks away and Betty watches him leave. The sadness that has lingered all day feels like a weight on her chest as she watches his retreating form. The warning bell rings, urging her to head to class, but she escapes to the bathroom instead.

Inside a locked cubicle, she lets a few tears fall.

 

 

 

As the other cheerleaders leave the locker room, Veronica hangs back. She knows Cheryl is here and they're alone. It's the perfect place to try and get her to talk.

Their night at the Whyte Wyrm had been fun - until Cheryl had tried to kiss her and she had panicked and walked away.

It wasn't that she didn't want Cheryl to kiss her - in fact, she really, really did - but it felt all wrong. They were tipsy and feeling silly, and all of the men around them were already leering without witnessing two women making out. Veronica didn't want their first kiss to be tainted like that.

But now Cheryl wasn't speaking to her, stung by her apparent rejection. She had ignored all of her texts and calls over the weekend, had avoided her all day on Monday, and hadn't looked in her direction at all during practice.

Veronica didn't like being ignored.

"Hey."

Cheryl looks up from lacing her sneakers, face falling into neutrality as soon as she sees her. She's not about to give anything away.

"Hey," she replies over her shoulder as she walks over to her locker. Her back is now turned but Veronica can hear what she's thinking.

_...Why is she here? She made it clear how she feels..._

Veronica sighs and reaches out to touch her shoulder. "Cher, come on. Don't be like this."

"Like what?" she snaps, spinning around. Her hair fans out around her and her eyes blaze with anger, as if the fire in her hands is coursing through her whole body. "Embarrassed? Upset? Confused?"

"I'm sorry." Veronica slides her hand from her shoulder down her arm, until their fingers tangle together. "I panicked, okay? I didn't want our first kiss to be in that place and I didn't know how to tell you, so I ran away."

Cheryl's gaze falls, impossibly long eyelashes fanning across her cheeks.

_...She wouldn't lie to me..._

"So you didn't run because you didn't want to kiss me?" she asks quietly.

Veronica watches her for a second, shocked by the vulnerability she's seeing. Even as they got closer, Cheryl rarely let her guard down. And she was good at controlling her thoughts around her, always careful not to think of anything too personal. This was a side of Cheryl she was unfamiliar with.

"Of course not." Veronica steps closer, tips Cheryl's chin up with a single finger. "I'm crazy about you, Cher."

A small smile pulls at her lips, but as she meets her eyes again, the vulnerability disappears and is replaced by the attitude she expects from Cheryl.

"Well, maybe next time, don't run away like a coward. It was super lame-"

Veronica surges forward to kiss her, cutting her off mid-sentence. Cheryl makes a surprised noise but quickly recovers, meeting Veronica's enthusiasm with her own.

Her lips are soft, plush, so different from the guys she's kissed. She's only ever kissed one other girl before - a socialite from her New York prep school, during a game of truth or dare - but it hadn't felt like this. She didn't feel this passion, this need to show Cheryl just how much she wants her.

She bites her bottom lip, parting her lips before she slides her tongue inside. Cheryl moans, hands sliding around her waist as she draws her closer. Veronica reaches up to cup her face and pushes her back against the lockers, the length of her body flush against hers.

As she presses a path of kisses across her neck, soft whimpers fall from Cheryl's lips. She's imagined this moment so many times, has thought about the sounds she would make, but it was never like this. For all of her fire and dominance, Cheryl becomes soft and pliant under Veronica's attentions. Veronica is in control here, and while she never expected this dynamic in their relationship, she loves that she can make Cheryl desperate for her.

"As hot as this is," Cheryl says, voice breathy. "Making out in a locker room is like the beginning of a bad porno."

Veronica laughs, burying her face against the column of her throat. When she pulls back, Cheryl is laughing too, pale cheeks flushed and dark eyes almost black.

_...She's so beautiful..._

At least they were on the same page about some things.

She brushes a loose curl behind her ear.

"Lets go to my place. My parents won't be home until late."

They grab their bags and head out of the locker room, lips swollen and joined hands swinging between them.

 

 

 

Betty thinks on some level, Cheryl and Veronica are definitely enjoying the attention they're getting. She watches them now, walking ahead of her, hand in hand, chins raised high as they stared down anyone who gave them a cross look.

They both have a penchant for drama and they had been the subject of everyone's gossip for the past week. Their new relationship had been a real surprise for most of the student body, but after days of hallway-PDA and loved-up social media posts, everybody now knew that they were together and it was the real deal.

For the most part, Betty was happy for them. There was no love lost between her and Cheryl, but she made her best friend happy and that's all that mattered. She'd never seen Veronica this carefree before; she was glowing.

Still, another part of her was jealous. Only a week ago she had been that happy, had been in love and content. To have that love ripped away from her is one of the hardest things she's ever had to deal with - is still struggling to deal with - and she never even had the chance to enjoy it the way she wanted to. There was no holding hands in public and kissing outside of classrooms for her and Jughead.

Jealousy and heartache - they seemed to be the only emotions she could feel since she lost him.

She follows the happy couple into the break room, the gang's unofficial meeting place. One of them was always in there during lunch or free periods, waiting for the others to arrive, and Betty liked the closeness that had formed in their little group.

Today, Kevin was there with Archie. Kevin's eyes light up as he sees them enter, a broad smile on his face.

"Cheronica is giving me life! Please let this never end - the rumor mill is going crazy over you guys."

Cheryl and Veronica share amused looks as they take a seat on one of the sofas. Cheryl's hand comes down to rest on Veronica's leg, red nails bright against her bare skin.

"They need to get over it already," Cheryl says with a roll of her eyes. "It's like they've never seen a same-sex relationship before. All of the attention we're getting is so dumb."

Jughead strolls into the room then, letting out a snort as he catches the end of Cheryl's sentence.

"Yeah, okay. Because you two just hate having all eyes on you."

Cheryl's eyes narrow but Veronica laughs and covers her hand with her own in a placating gesture.

"He has a point, babe."

Cheryl sniffs, "Whatever," and flicks her hair over her shoulder.

Archie's eyes flicker between the two of them, brows pulled together as if he's trying to solve a math problem.

"It's still so weird that you two are dating. You hated each other."

"Hate is only a step away from love," Kevin argues.

"Still weird," Archie mutters and then turns to Jughead. "So, how did it go last night, man?"

Jughead's eyes drop to his lap and his cheeks turn pink. He looks both embarrassed but happy.

"It was good," he says quietly. "Really good."

"Holy shit." Archie's eyes go wide before he barks out a laugh and claps his hand on Jughead's shoulder. "You got laid last night."

Jughead doesn't say anything but that smile is answer enough.

"You slept with somebody?"

The question escapes Betty's mouth before she has a chance to take it back. Jughead's head snaps up, brow furrowing as he meets her gaze. She can feel the others staring at her too, but she can't look away from Jughead. Jealousy rears its ugly head again, swirling in her gut.

"Yeah, Sabrina and Jug went on a date last night," Archie explains, oblivious to the strange atmosphere in the room. "And it clearly had a happy ending," he grins, nudging Jughead.

Betty swallows, tries to keep her tone neutral as she says, "Oh. Right. I didn't know you were dating."

She can't look away from Jughead who looks increasingly confused by their exchange.

"I know it's a miracle that a living, breathing woman is actually interested in Donnie Darko, but you don't have to sound so shocked, Betty."

"Bite me, Cheryl," Jughead snaps, finally breaking their eye contact.

Betty doesn't know what to do, what to say. Her guard is down and she's struggling to get it back up. She feels exposed, vulnerable, like everyone can tell that she's jealous and confused and heartbroken.

"I have to go," she mutters, grabbing her bag and rushing out of the room without a backwards glance.

She shouldn't feel like this; he's not _her_ Jughead. But the thought of him with another girl, of being that close to someone who isn't her, makes her feel sick. He'd told her this would happen - that his first time would be with someone else - but she hadn't expected it to hurt this much.

Then again, she also hadn't expected him to die.

 

 

 

Jughead is no expert when it comes to Betty. He's not as close to her as Veronica, doesn't have the history with her that Archie does. Even Cheryl is better at picking up on her emotions after years spent trying to find her weaknesses.

But the way Betty has been behaving for the last two weeks is so weird that it begins to concern him. Something was up with her.

It isn't like the somber mood after she discovered her power, where she became withdrawn and quiet. Now she's full of false enthusiasm and fake smiles, until the mask falls and a sadness he's never seen before takes over. There are dark circles beneath her eyes - almost dark enough to rival his own - and sometimes when they're alone in the Blue and Gold office, he'll catch her staring off into space, eyelashes fluttering quickly over teary eyes when she snaps out of it.

And of course there was her reaction to him and Sabrina. He still can't make sense of that. It almost seemed like she was jealous but there's no way that was the case. He and Betty were just friends and she'd never be interested in him like that.

He considers talking to Veronica or Archie, but they're both distracted these days, in new relationships that seem to take up most of their free time. And the few times he's overheard Veronica ask Betty if she's okay, she's dismissed her with an 'I'm fine," and a not quite convincing smile. She's not giving anything away.

What he decides to do is definitely inappropriate, even creepy, but that doesn't stop him. He doesn't like seeing her like this and if she won't tell her closest friends what's wrong with her, he doesn't know how else they're supposed to help her. And she definitely needs support from someone. That's what they do for each other now, their band of misfits. They need to stick together and take care of one another.

Even Cheryl.

He cracks his neck, body thrumming as he disappears from view. He leaves the empty classroom and walks down the hallway to the bathrooms. He knows Betty's inside, had watched her run out of their History class when the bell rang.

He leans up against the wall and waits. The hallway is empty now, all other students in their classes. Betty emerges a few minutes later, cheeks pink and eyes glossy and red. He follows her as she walks towards her locker, completely unaware of his presence. Maybe there's something in her locker that can help him, like a journal or a diary. Reading her journal would be a huge violation of privacy but she'd never have to know.

She spins the dial on the lock and Jughead makes a mental note of the code. He watches as she sorts through neatly piled books and folders, until she finds a copy of _To Kill A Mockingbird_  - their required reading for English. She opens up the back cover to find the card inside. With a quick glance to her left and right, she removes the card and turns it over to reveal a photograph. All of the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

It's a photograph of them. They're close, they look like they're... together. And they're in New York.

Jughead's never been to New York with Betty.

"Where did you get that?"

Betty jumps as he reveals himself, hand flying to her chest.

"Oh my god. You scared me."

"Where did you get that?" he demands, pointing at the photograph.

Her eyes meet his. She looks worried, fearful, as tears begin to form.

"Someone gave it to me."

"Who?"

She bites the inside of her lip.

"The guy in the mask."

His breath catches. She knows him; she's met the guy in the mask. The man he hadn't seen in weeks, who seems to have disappeared completely.

"Who is he?"

Her throat bobs as she swallows thickly.

"He's... He's you, Jug."

 

 

 

Arms wrapped around her knees, she watches him. He sits beside her on the bed, photograph clutched in his shaking hands. Her eyes trace the lines of his profile, studying him, relishing in having him so close again.

"You came back so we could be together, in the future," she says softly, gently.

"So you and me, we're actually... together?"

"We were in his time," she answers. "And we will be again." He turns to look at her and she falters. "I _hope_ we will be."

His focuses on the photograph again, one finger tracing across the two of them.

"It doesn't make any sense," he murmurs. "You and me... I've never... I mean you're beautiful, obviously, and so sweet, and fucking nice, and I'd be so lucky..."

He trails off. His stumbling sentence makes her smile. She wishes she could reach out and touch him, comfort him.

"The future version of you, he's- he's like a real superhero. He protects all of us."

"But I'm nothing like that guy," he argues. "You saw him that night when he saved us from Grundy. I could never do that."

"You're really not that different," she tries to reassure him. "He's you, but... he's more confident, more self-assured. And my power," she adds, "it doesn't work on you. You can touch me."

He meets her gaze again, mouth pulled down into a sad smile.

"And then I die."

She sighs. She has to make him see, understand.

"You saved my life," she argues. "He said that if you didn't come back and die, you wouldn't become the person you need to be."

He says nothing but he's clearly taking the information in. This whole afternoon must be so overwhelming for him. She wishes Future Jughead had prepared her for this.

"And this place - is it mine?"

"I guess so." She pulls the chain out from beneath her sweater and over her head. "He gave me the key before he..." She swallows the lump in her throat. "You should have it."

She drops the key and chain into his open palm, careful not to touch him. His fingers curl around it, gripping it tightly in his hand.

"When do I become him?" he asks quietly.

She shrugs and shakes her head. "I don't know."

He turns away from her again, but she catches the dismayed look on his face. He stares out across his new home.

"So what now?"

She pulls her arms a little tighter around her knees. "I have no idea."

 

 

 

Veronica hands curl into the pillow, eyes squeezed shut and hips rolling as she reaches her peak.

Cheryl moves away and presses two soft kisses against the inside of her thigh. She watches her wipe her lips, shiny with her, and gives her a lazy smile.

"Come here," she murmurs.

Cheryl crawls over her, pupils blown wide and a gorgeous smile on her face.

Veronica brushes back a strand of her long hair. "You're so beautiful."

Their lips meet in a slow kiss and Veronica can taste herself on her tongue. Cheryl rolls to the side, stretches out across her bed as they continue to kiss. Veronica's hand moves down her body and beneath her skirt, sliding across the smooth skin she finds beneath.

They're both smiling as they pull away, nestled against Cheryl's fluffy pillows as they face each other.

"Can you believe that just a few months ago we were screaming at each other during practice?" Cheryl reaches up to cup her face. "I never imagined we'd end up like this."

Veronica laughs softly. "It is pretty crazy. And I seem to remember a lot more hair-pulling than screaming."

Cheryl smirks. "You've always been able to push my buttons, Lodge. And now you're pulling my hair for other reasons," she murmurs as she leans in to brush another kiss across her lips.

Veronica hums. "What were we even fighting about that day?"

"I can't even remember. You definitely said something to Betty, but I think the tension had been building for a while. We were always snapping at each other. I guess we reached our boiling point and the tension had to be released somehow."

Veronica slides her hand over her ass. "Case in point."

Cheryl giggles, her whole face lighting up as her full lips stretch into a wide grin. Sometimes Veronica is struck by just how beautiful she is and can hardly believe that she's lucky enough to love someone like her.

"Go to the dance with me."

Her laughter tapers off as her eyes go wide.

"Are you serious?"

Veronica smiles. "Yeah. It'll be fun, don't you think?"

"Of course," she replies. "But it's kind of weird. I don't think I ever pictured us doing something as normal as going to a high school dance. We're too awesome for something so cliché."

"Oh, we absolutely are," Veronica agrees. "But I want to do the cliché things with you. I wanna see you all dressed up in a pretty dress and walk into the hall looking like the hottest power couple Riverdale has ever seen."

Cheryl grins. "I want that, too. Lets do it. Lets go to the dance."

 

 

 

It had been almost a month since Betty told Jughead about the guy in the mask. Thankfully, things had remained relatively normal between them. They still worked on the Blue and Gold together, they still hung out with the rest of the gang all the time. And Betty has been so busy chairing the dance committee that she's barely had time to dwell on her grief over Future Jughead and her relationship with Current Jughead.

Still, things had definitely changed between them. She'd catch him staring at her sometimes, studying her as if he was trying to solve a complicated equation. They also talked a lot more; mostly small talk about their respective days as they worked on the paper after school, but other stuff, too - his dad, her mom, why they were given their powers and what this all means. Before he had found out the truth, they would mostly work in silence, only really talking when they or one of the others had a power-related problem. Betty preferred their new arrangement.

Things really begin change during one particular lunch break. They're all sitting in the cafeteria, gathered around the same table as they usually were these days. Betty picks at her food, not really paying attention to the conversations happening around her.

"Hey, Toni told me about you and Sabrina, man," she hears Archie tell Jughead, and her head snaps up, eyes immediately meeting Jughead's. "That sucks. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Jughead replies, still looking at her. "We weren't right for each other. It's not a big deal."

Betty looks away, stabs her fork into a tomato as she tries to get a hold of herself and process the information.

Jughead and Sabrina were no longer dating. Jughead was single.

She doesn't see him until she enters the Blue and Gold office at the end of the day. She isn't sure how to proceed, if she should take the lead and ask him out. But what if it's too soon? What if he's not over Sabrina and he isn't interested in dating anyone else right now?

"Hey," she smiles and takes a seat in front of him at the desk.

"Hey," he replies as she turns on her laptop, leaning back in his chair to look at her.

She can feel him watching her, studying her again. "What?" she asks self-consciously, eyes flickering over to him and then back again.

"Nothing. Um... Archie's taking Toni to the dance."

She nods. "Yeah, he told me. And Cheryl and Veronica are going together. Obviously," she says with an affectionate roll of her eyes. They were actually really sweet.

"Yeah, right... So, uh... Are you going? To the dance?"

Her brow furrows as she looks over at him. "I'm on the committee. I kind of have to go."

"Right. Of course." He nods, eyes downcast, slightly embarrassed.

She opens up the article she's been working on and takes her notebook out of her bag, flipping through the pages until she finds the page she needs.

"Do you have a date?" he blurts out and her eyes shoot up to look at him in surprise.

"Uh, no. No, I don't."

"Would you maybe wanna go... with me?" he asks hesitantly.

Her lips quirk up in amusement. "It's girl's choice. Shouldn't I be asking you?"

"You know me, Betts. I've always been kind of a rebel," he says, eyes full of mirth.

She laughs softly. "Okay, sure. I'd love to go with you."

He nods again, a small smile on his face now, and settles in front of his laptop again.

She types up a short paragraph, her fingers tapping against the keys, when she notices his side of the desk is quiet. She looks up and over at him, and he's looking right back, eyes focused on her and that smile still in place.

He drops his gaze quickly, caught, but she just smiles, a pleasant warmth in her chest as his eyes flicker up to her once more.

 

 

 

Jughead's knee bounces nervously as he sits on the Cooper's couch. Thankfully Alice was upstairs helping Betty get dressed and Hal wasn't home, so he didn't have to deal with any parental pressure. It would only make him more nervous, if that were possible.

He hears the creak of a step as Betty begins to descend the stairs and his head snaps up. She smiles at him, face dewy and radiant, and framed by the strands of hair falling around her face.

"You look beautiful," he says gently as he meets her at the bottom of the staircase.

Her gaze drops as a smile pulls at her lips, and when she looks up again, her eyes are sparkling. They look brighter, greener, framed by soft colors and feathery black lashes. Betty always looked pretty but tonight she was stunning. Jughead wonders if maybe she dressed up for him and the thought makes his stomach flip.

"Thanks, Jug." She runs her hand across the lapel of his suit. "You look very handsome."

An shy smile crosses his face, but he doesn't look away, just living in the moment where they're two normal teenagers who are bashful over their crush on each other.

Alice clears her throat beside them, ending their moment.

"I want at least two pictures before you leave," she insists.

Betty tucks her hand inside his below, careful not touch him, and smiles beautifully for the camera. Jughead tears his eyes away from her for a second to smile as well.

When they arrive at the dance, the room is already filled with students. Her hand is tucked inside his arm again, so he steers them over to the snack table.

"I should have guessed this would be your first stop," she laughs as he grabs a handful of chips.

He winks. "You know me so well, Betts."

A small smile pulls at her lips at his comment and there's an expression of her face that he can't make sense of. This happens sometimes - Betty looking at him almost wistfully, often a little sad - and he wonders if she's thinking of him; if he's done something that is a reminder of him.

Veronica and Cheryl find them at some point, glamorous and kind of overdressed for the occasion. Cheryl even has a diamond choker around her neck that catches the lights every so often. Betty's dress is much more simple - peach and strappy and grazing her ankles - and he thinks she looks just as good, if not better.

Cheryl pulls aside the slit in her dress, exposing her thigh and the flask strapped to it.

"It's about time someone made this thing a little more exciting," she declares, pouring a generous amount of rum into the punch bowl.

She gives it a good stir as Veronica rests her chin on her shoulder.

"Pour me a cup, babe."

They take a cup each, sipping on the bright red concoction.

"You want one?" Jughead asks Betty, gesturing to the bowl.

"Maybe half a cup."

He gets them both half a cup each and passes it to her with a smile. She carefully takes it from him, making sure not to brush her fingers against his. Not for the first time tonight, he wishes he could touch her, that he could feel the softness of her skin without issue.

It's been strange for him, the transition from friend to potential boyfriend. It's not hard to like Betty - she's pretty and kind and funny and sweet - but he had never thought about her like that. He had a crush on her, once, when he was twelve, but it was fleeting and childish. Now they were older and they had the potential to become something real.

Since the first time she told him what they would become to each other, he has slowly realized that he _wants_ that. He wants to be with her, and make her happy, and comfort her when she's sad. He wants to be the person she comes to when she needs help and the one that makes her laugh until her nose crinkles in that cute way of hers.

But he also wants to touch her and kiss her and hold her hand, and there lies the problem.

Toni and Archie arrive looking disheveled. He doesn't ask what they got up to before they arrived but he knows Archie will probably tell him anyway, unbidden, when he catches him alone.

"So I finally found out what Joaquin's power is," Archie announces to the group.

"Pray tell, Archiekins."

"He doesn't just deal drugs - he deals powers. He can remove people's powers but also transfer them. At a price."

"So, what? He's buying and selling them?" Jughead asks.

"It's big business," Toni answers. "He pays more for powers that he's interested in and charges more for the powers he thinks people will really want. The big-hitters - telepathy, invisibility."

"You should sell your power, Ron," Archie suggests. "You could make some cash."

Veronica scoffs. "No way."

"But yesterday you were complaining that you hate hearing what everyone thinks about you," Cheryl points out. "This would get rid of that problem."

"This power is a part of me," she states firmly. "At this point, I would feel weird without it. And I've gotten better at blocking people out, so that's not even an issue anymore."

Jughead's eyes dart to Betty who has gone quiet throughout all of this. She's looking at the group, but she seems unfocused, and Jughead knows exactly what she's thinking about.

"He's been trying to get me to sell my power," Toni says. "But he's wasting his time. I love being able to move shit with my mind."

"How much does he pay? For a power?"

Everyone's head snaps over to Betty, surprised that she's finally spoken.

Toni shrugs. "Depends on the power; anything from $50 to a grand. But that's gotta be some fucking power."

Betty nods slowly, taking this information in.

Jughead doesn't like that she's thinking about this tonight of all nights. They were supposed to be having fun, not letting their powers take over every aspect of their lives as they often seemed to do.

"Do you wanna dance?"

Betty looks up at him in surprise.

"Um, okay. I didn't really think you danced."

He shrugs. "It's my first school dance. Gotta do it right. Tick off all the milestones."

She smiles, distracted now, and takes his arm again as they walk into the crowd on the dance floor.

She rests her hands on his shoulders, over his suit, as his hands settle on her hips. It's the closest they've ever been but it's not close enough. He wants to draw her up against him, feel her body flush against his, skin brushing skin and fingers linked together. But he knows this is all they can have and he's trying to be satisfied with it.

"I'm really glad you asked me. I know dances aren't your thing but this means a lot."

He smiles. "I'm just happy you said yes. I've never asked a girl to a dance before. It's kind of scary."

She laughs. "I know I can shoot lightning out of my hands but I'm not that scary, am I?"

He shakes his head, eyes softening. "No, you're not. You're amazing."

Her eyelashes flutter, as if trying to blink back tears.

"If we were just regular teenagers, this is probably when I'd try to make a move," he says, teasing, but also entirely serious.

One corner of her mouth tilts up.

"If we were regular teenagers, I'd let you."

He exhales and tightens his hold on her, bringing her just slightly closer.

"This is enough. Just being with you is enough," he promises.

Kevin cuts in at some point, insisting that Betty needs to show him a good time as he's flying solo tonight. He leaves them to it, spinning around the floor as the music changes to something faster-paced.

He finds Cheryl near the snack table, sipping on another cup of punch. He pours himself a cup and leans back against the wall with her, observing the crowd until his eyes settle on Betty.

"I don't know how you did it, Jones," Cheryl says beside him and he turns to her. "At the beginning of the year you were a social outcast and now look at you. Cool apartment, a beautiful girlfriend, friends with _me_."

He laughs and shrugs his shoulders as his eyes flicker back over to Betty. She wasn't his girlfriend but hopefully she would be soon.

"Just lucky, I guess."

They dance a few more times but spend most of their night sat with the gang, chatting and messing around. He must eat over half of what the snack table has to offer before the night is over, but cuts back on the punch as he has to drive Betty home.

Betty is flushed and rum-tipsy as they climb into his truck. He turns the radio on low and winds down the windows, letting some of the cool night breeze blow in.

He starts up the car and looks over at Betty, who is already watching him.

"I really wish I could hold your hand right now."

She smiles softly. "Well maybe you can."

His eyebrows knit together as he watches her open up her purse. She pulls out a single white glove and pulls it on.

"It looks stupid and I didn't want to wear it inside, but I can wear it here, with you."

She had planned this; she had put the glove in her purse in the hope that they might do something as simple as hold hands tonight. He reaches over and slides his fingers through the spaces between hers. Their eyes meet across the console and she gives his hand a squeeze.

Is this was all he could get, he was going to enjoy every second of it.

 

 

 

**three months later**

  
A hiss escapes through his teeth as Betty presses the cotton ball against his skin. There's a small trickle of blood sliding down his cheek and she quickly wipes it away with a tissue, making sure she doesn't touch his skin.

"You've gotta be more careful, Juggie. You could get really hurt."

"I'm never gonna be like him if I don't practice, Betts."

She doesn't know what to say to that. He was right, in a way, but that wouldn't stop her from worrying about him. So much of his time was now spent jumping from rooftop to rooftop and boxing with Archie in his garage, and he always had a new cut or bruise to show for it.

She meets his eye, levels him with a serious look. "Please be careful. For me."

"Okay, I'll try," he says softly.

She wishes she could kiss him. She'd love to be able to reach out and cup his cheek in her hand and press a warm, comforting kiss against his lips. Instead, she settles for a smile.

"Good." She drops the cotton ball and tissue into the trash and picks up her bag. "I've gotta go. Veronica just texted and said they're outside."

"I'll walk you out."

They head out to the front of his building, where Cheryl and Veronica are waiting in Cheryl's car. The top is down, exposing them to the warming temperatures of early summer, and both girl's lips are painted a bright red.

"Ready, B? Hope you brought your lipstick with you!"

"It's in here," Betty replies, throwing her bag into the backseat.

They were cheering at a big football game tonight against Greendale, Riverdale's main rival. The whole squad had been told to wear lipstick for the occasion but there was no way her mother would have let her leave the house in it. She'd stuffed the tube into her bag before she left to go to Jughead's apartment.

As she climbs into the backseat, she hears Cheryl address Jughead. " _Another_ injury? Aren't you supposed to be some kind of superhero now? You never see Thor with a black eye."

"Haven't you got somewhere to be? Somewhere that's far away from here?"

Cheryl clicks her tongue. "She must really love you to put up with your shitty attitude, Jones."

Jughead's eyes flicker over to Betty, a cute, shy smile pulling at his lips. Betty smiles back.

"Bye, Juggie."

"I'll see you later. Have fun!"

Cheryl speeds away, always driving too fast in her little sports car. Betty turns back to blow him a kiss and sees the satisfied smile that takes over his face.

 

 

 

She doesn't expect to see him there, watching the game from the bleachers like all the other spectators. He rarely left the Northside, not even to see Kevin.

The last time they had crossed paths had been two months ago at one of Toni's parties. She hadn't really wanted to go but everyone else was, and with Jughead by her side she knew she'd at least have a good night with him. As soon as she had spotted Joaquin, she wanted to approach him. What Toni had told them about his power at the dance had intrigued her, and she often found herself thinking about it, wondering how easy it would be to remove her power.

She knew Jughead wouldn't approve so she didn't talk to him that night. He believed their powers had a purpose, that they had some kind of destiny to fulfill. Betty wasn't sure that she agreed but she didn't want to have that conversation with him again.

"Hey, Joaquin."

He spins around to look at her, one of his lazy smirks in place.

"Betty Cooper. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

She wrings her hands together as her nerves kick in.

"I wanted to talk to you... about a deal."

"I see."

He leaves his group of friends behind and pulls her over to the steps and down beneath the bleachers.

"What kind of power do you have?"

"Electrokinesis. I can create electricity with my hands."

He nods slowly. "That could be valuable. Do you know how much you want for it?"

Her eyebrows knit together. "I hadn't really though about it. I just want it gone."

"Fair enough." He tucks his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. "So when do you wanna do this? I'm free this weekend if you wanna come over to the trailer."

"Really? So soon?"

He shrugs. "Why not? You want rid of this thing and it's a quick process."

"How exactly does it work? Will it hurt?"

"'Course not. I just touch my hand to yours and it's gone - almost like I've absorbed it."

"Okay," she nods, feeling a small tingle of excitement at the prospect of being freed of this in just a few days. "How about Saturday, then. Is noon, okay?"

"Sounds good. Guess I'll see you Saturday."

He walks away but pauses as she calls out to him.

"Please don't tell Kevin. He might let it slip to Jughead and I wanna tell him myself."

Joaquin raises one eyebrow. "Keeping secrets, Cooper? Not what I expected from a girl like you." The smirk returns, as unsettling as ever. "If you think you need to keep this a secret, are you sure selling your power is the right move?"

She definitely isn't sure but it's a risk she's willing to take.

 

 

 

Jughead drops the empty box onto the pile, glad to be almost done. Moving into a new place was a frustrating process but he was so happy to be out of the trailer park. And what other eighteen year old had an apartment like this?

The pile of books at his feet is small and he hopes he has enough room in the small bookcase to put them away. He picks up the first book - a hardback copy of _In Cold Blood_ , gifted to him by Betty - and removes the bookend on the top shelf to make space. As he pulls it away, a brown envelope falls down.

He picks it up, curious. On the front is a date and message:

_If all goes wrong on this date, open this envelope. The contents inside will help you. You'll know what to do._

His brow furrows as he stares at the envelope. It's clearly from his future-self. He really wants to open it and see what's inside, but he decides not to. The date was months away and with the ominous message, he may not like what he finds. He places _In Cold Blood_ against the last book in the row and slips the envelope in between, hidden from sight. There was no need to worry about it now.

The elevator door opens behind him then, and he turns to see Betty walking in, a gentle smile on her face.

"Hi," she smiles as she approaches, quickly closing the distance between them.

He smiles. "Hey. You seem happy."

Her eyes light up as she steps even closer, almost touching but not quite.

"Don't freak out, but I have something to show you."

His brow furrows, waiting for an explanation, and he stumbles back in shock as her hands reach up to touch his face. Her fingers make brief contact, ghosting across his cheeks, but he feels no pain, no sparks.

"What the-? How-"

"I asked Joaquin to take my power. I don't have it anymore."

His frown deepens. "What? Why would you do that?"

"Because I hate it," she answers with a frown of her own. "I didn't want it. I never have. You know that."

"What if there was a reason you were given that power? And you've just let it go."

She sighs. "Juggie, I don't care. That power only ever made life harder for me, and I... I want things to be the way they're supposed to be..." She licks her lips and his eyes follow the movement. "I want you to touch me."

He swallows as she leans in, breath fanning across his face before she brushes her lips against his. Her lips are impossibly soft, a perfect pressure. Sparks of a new kind leave his mouth tingling as she pulls away.

Her eyes and her smile are so soft, so beautiful. He stares down at her, in awe, unable to believe that he's allowed to touch her like this. And after so many months spent wanting to touch her and taste her, he's not wasting another second.

He presses forward to catch her full bottom lip between his and a small gasp escapes her as he traces his tongue across it. She tastes sweet and minty, just like he imagined she would, and the noises she's making are driving him crazy.

The beanie goes first, pushed away by her hands and dropped to the floor, and then she tugs at his shirt, breaking their kiss to slip it over his head. Her hands are on him immediately, touching his newly-bared skin as her mouth meets his again, eventually moving up to loop around his neck. She backs them towards the bed, removing her own shirt as she goes.

They fall back against the comforter, kisses growing more heated, more desperate. His palms slide across her waist, her hips, feeling her smooth skin. For as much as she hates the word, she is perfect, and he can hardly believe that she's his.

Her hand reaches down to rub over the denim of his jeans and across his length. His breath catches in his throat as his hips buck forward, seeking more.

"Are we really going to do this?"

She nods, lip trapped between her teeth.

"We're really going to do this."

 

 

 

"Jug, it's not a big deal."

Jughead huffs and scrubs a hand over his face. He drapes his arms over his knees, head hung low in embarrassment. He feels the pressure of her lips against his bare shoulder but he doesn't acknowledge it. He can't look at her right now.

Her hand slides across his forearm in what should be a comforting gesture, but he has to fight the urge to cringe away.

"That was bad. _I_ was bad."

"No, it wasn't. We just need to practice. Get better at it."

He meets her gaze then, jealousy flaring up inside him. "He was better than me, wasn't he?" He runs his hand through his hair. "I hate thinking about you being with him."

"Jug," she murmurs, tone disapproving. "He _is_ you. You're the same person."

He pulls away from her touch and rises from them bed.

"You'll always love him more than you love me."

He walks away, cracks his neck to disappear from her sight, leaving her on his bed, naked, no doubt disappointed, and wrapped up in his sheets. She calls out his name but he doesn't look back.

 

 

 

Usually she can count on Veronica or Kevin to be in the break room when she gets there, but today there's no such luck. Even Betty would be more tolerable than Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Misery, but she's nowhere to be found either.

She drops into the empty armchair anyway. She's not about to go to the library during lunch and unfortunately these guys were some of the only friends she had. She didn't have many other options.

Jughead gives a quick nod in acknowledgement, but there's a curious hint of pink on his cheeks and he looks more sour than usual.

"Why so glum, Jones? You've been positively cheerful these days, all loved-up with Sunshine Barbie."

"They're having problems," Archie responds and gets a swift backhand on the arm from Jughead.

" _Dude_. Shut up!"

"What? She's a lesbian, man. If anyone knows how to please a chick, it's her."

 _Hello._ Cheryl cocks on eyebrow. Were Riverdale's most surprising couple having problems in the bedroom?

"Firstly, I'm bisexual. If you're going to label me, do it correctly," she scolds Archie, then turns to Jughead. "So what exactly is going on with you and your lady? Are you not rocking her world?"

Jughead eyes narrow. "Honestly, no. And to make things even worse, I'm competing with myself."

This was amazing - Jughead was jealous of himself! She found the whole Future Jughead thing kind of creepy and it was downright scandalous that Betty of all people had had an affair with him behind everybody's back. It was a unique situation he was in, she'd give him that.

"Well why can't Archie help? They used to screw."

Archie rubs a hand across the back of neck, his cheeks now pink. "I don't think I'm the right person to ask. Me and Betty, we never really... It wasn't that good between us. At least, for her."

Cheryl scoffs. "Well I hope you try harder with Toni. I actually like her, and she's already too cool for you, so you really need to step it up."

"Not that it's any of your business, but things between us are great," he snaps.

She made a mental note to ask Toni about their sex life the next time she saw her.

"Whatever. We're not talking about you. We're talking about Jughead and Betty." She turns to him and levels him with her stare. "You need to go down on her," she states. "And you need to do it well."

Jughead blushes harder and he looks ready to bolt, overwhelmed by his embarrassment. But instead he stays put. He clearly wanted to know how to please his girl and she would give him props for that.

"I've never done that before. Me and Sabrina only hooked up a couple of times and we never did... that."

"It's mostly instinct," Cheryl advises. "The clit is where you need to pay the most attention. You do know where the clit is, right?" He nods quickly. "Okay, so, word of advice - everything you do needs to be fives times more gentle than you think it should be - guys are always too rough." She grimaces. "Now, you need to tease her. Work the clit but also withdraw pressure and use your tongue elsewhere until she's really worked up. Put your fingers inside her and curl them - she'll love you for it. And when she's really hot for you and can barely stand it any longer, suck and lit at her clit until she's coming and screaming your name."

It's silent in the break room, both guys staring at her with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

She shrugs. "What? You wanted advice."

"I never thought I'd say this," Jughead begins. "But thank you, Cheryl."

"Happy to help. I'd never stand in the way of a girl and her orgasm."

 

 

 

Betty wraps a towel around her body as she steps out of the shower. Water drips down her back and over her shoulders, and she shivers against the cool temperature of the apartment. Behind her, she hears the open and close of the elevator doors.

She walks over to the dresser to grab underwear and some fresh clothes when she feels two arms slide around her, and lips pressing kisses across her shoulder.

"Hey," she smiles, hands settling over his.

He smiles into her neck. "You smell good."

She turns in his arms and slides her hands up and around his neck.

"Well I would hope so. Kind of the aim of showering," she teases.

He just smiles and leans forward to kiss her, his tongue immediately sliding past her lips. It's a hurried kiss - hot breaths and pressure and feeling like they want to consume one another. He pushes her back against the dresser, body now flush against hers.

"Juggie," she says against his mouth. "If we're going to dinner, I need to get dressed."

"There's no need," he tells her, blue eyes darker with desire. "We're gonna stay here tonight, _all_ night. We can order in later."

Desire pools low in stomach as she realizes his intentions. She wants him, she always does, and she's so glad the events of the previous night haven't crushed his confidence.

She smirks and cocks one eyebrow. "And what do you propose we do _all_ night?"

His fingers tug at the top of the towel until it falls, pooling around her feet.

"I have a few ideas."

He lifts her up, hands tucked under the backs of her thighs. Her legs instinctively wrap around him, locking around his waist as he carries her to his bed.

His mouth is on her before she's even settled back against the pillows, hands hooked around her thighs as she squirms against him. Her fingers slide into his hair, hips rising up to ride his face.

It feels incredible, pleasure coursing through her body with every flick of his tongue. She hasn't felt this way in so long, not since... well, him.

"Juggie," she moans, fingers curling into the sheets as she rides out her first orgasm.

He keeps working her with his fingers, lips, tongue, coaxing another orgasm from her until she can't take anymore and pushes him away. His eyes are impossibly dark as he crawls over, hips pressed between her trembling legs.

"Where did you learn to do that?" she breathes out.

His smile is both lazy and smug, and she has no time to make a comment before his mouth is on hers. She can taste herself, tangy but sweet.

She tugs his clothes off quickly, wanting to be close, skin-to-skin. He grabs a condom from the drawer and rolls it on, hands shaking slightly with anticipation. She reaches down between them, guiding him inside her, back arching as his hips press flush against hers.

"Don't go slow," she begs as he begins to move.

The push and pull is amazing, his hips hitting against her again and again, but she wants more. She wants control. She rolls them over, locking their joined hands above his head as she moves above him. Their lips meet again, their kiss messy and desperate as she rides him.

He comes chanting her name, fingers squeezing her hips so tight he leaves faint bruises behind. Betty works him through it, moving against him until he can't take anymore.

She drops forward, head resting against his chest as they both try to catch their breath. His fingers reach up to stroke her hair back from her temples and she hums in contentment.

"Was that good for you?" he asks quietly, confidence slipping away into insecurity. "I want to be good for you."

She turns just slightly to press a kiss against his chest.

"You're always good to me, Jug. And that... that was amazing."

 

 

 

Betty is living in a bubble. A beautiful, blissful bubble where she fell more in love with Jughead everyday.

Her relationship with the present Jughead was different from her intense, passionate, too-brief affair with his future counterpart. She knew this Jughead, had been his friend since they were small children. There were no gaps in his story, no year of his life she hadn't been around for. They hadn't been close during all of that time, but there was always a connection there, and they had fallen back into friendship almost immediately after the storm.

Future Jughead was always a mystery to her. She knew his body, knew his kiss, knew what it felt like to have him look at her with pure devotion. But she didn't know where that devotion had come from. He kept their history a secret, never shared much of their relationship. The love he shared with the Betty from his time was private.

She had loved that Jughead, but she didn't know him, not really. Not like she knew the man next to her.

"Are you excited?" she asks, slipping her arm through his.

He leads her through the crowds of people in the station, weaving in and out.

"Yeah," he responds and then throws her a smirk. "Although not as excited as you."

She rolls her eyes. "Some of us have never been to New York, Juggie. And we could be living here next year. You've gotta be excited about that."

They exit the train station and out onto the street. He throws his arm around her shoulders and smiles down at her.

"I'm excited about having the weekend alone with you. I still don't know how you convinced your mom."

She didn't feel good about lying to her parents but it was a small price to pay to spend the night with Jughead. Veronica was covering for her if her mom asked any questions, and now Betty had the whole of Saturday and Sunday morning to explore the city and be with her boyfriend, just the two of them.

Jughead looks down at his phone, checking the directions on the hotel's website.

"It says it's a ten minute walk. We'll follow the map so we don't get lost."

He guides them through the streets, arm still draped over her shoulder. She reaches up to link her fingers through his; any opportunity to touch him.

The hotel is nice but modest. She'd saved up her allowance to pay for part of the room, but they couldn't afford anything too fancy between them. Manhattan was expensive and they wanted some cash to spend in the city. They drop their bags off in their room and grab a few items before they head out. Betty has planned a whole day for them full of all of the stereotypical tourist spots. They have a reservation, too, at a restaurant downtown, but they have hours to kill until dinner.

It's so good to be with him like this; open and affectionate, and just enjoying each other's company. The three months since she had had her power removed had been the happiest of her life. A huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders and things were looking up. Her relationship with her family was improving, she was feeling more like her old self, and she was in love. She still had struggles like school, and helping Polly with the twins, and tending to her boyfriend's wounds when he got hurt. But she truly felt that removing her power was the best decision she had ever made.

After hours spent at the Guggenheim and the Empire State Building, and a quick stop for lunch, Betty wanted to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge. This was their moment, the one that had been captured in Future Jughead's photograph, and she wanted to experience it in her time.

"It's incredible," Betty says as she looks out across Manhattan.

"Unreal," Jughead breathes. "I'm really happy you made us come here. I've never walked across the bridge before."

"I'm happy we made this whole trip," she admits. "I know it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy with the photograph and everything, but it's really special to me, that we came here together."

Jughead smiles. "Me, too, Betts." His hands slides around her waist, drawing her closer as he presses a kiss against her temple. "Love you."

She leans up to kiss him. "Love you, too."

Jughead pulls the camera out of his bag and takes a few shots of the landscape, before grabbing the attention of a passerby.

"Excuse me. Would you mind taking a picture of us?"

The lady smiles and they get into position. Jughead's arm folds around her shoulders again and she wraps hers around his waist, pressing close and tucking her head beneath his chin. She smiles the widest, happiest smile she can, waiting for the camera to click.

Jughead looks down at the screen, smiling at the image.

"Take a look," he says and passes it to her.

A feeling of contentment washes over her as she stares at the screen. It was a picture she's already seen, many times before, but this time she had lived it, had a new memory associated with it.

She grins. "I think it's a keeper."

 

 

 

He had to give her props - Cheryl really knew how to throw a party.

The new Blossom mansion wasn't as creepy or as old as the one before it. They'd bought it a year ago but there was still very little furniture, all of their belongings destroyed in the fire at Thornhill. Now the place was overrun with teenagers, not just from Riverdale but also neighbouring towns, looking to have a good time. It was the end of summer before college for some - like Cheryl - and almost the beginning of their senior year for others. Everyone was in the mood to let loose before school started again.

"I thought Toni was coming tonight," Betty says.

"She is. She must be running late."

He stands up on his toes, trying to peer over people's heads to the front door. He was getting worried. She should have been here over an hour ago.

Jughead joins them then, precariously holding three cups of beer in his hands. Archie grabs one quickly.

"Thanks, man."

"There's so many people here," Jughead says as he moves next to Betty, sliding an arm securely around her waist. She leans back against him, an unconscious smile on her face, allowing no distance between them. Archie smiles into his cup as he takes a sip. It should be weird for him but most of the time he couldn't get over how fucking cute they were. "I met a group of guys in the kitchen that I've never seen before. I'm pretty sure they traveled here from a different state."

"It's getting out of control. I give it another hour before someone calls the cops."

Archie is about to reply when two hands grab his waist from behind, making him jump.

"Hey, guys," Toni greets them as she ducks under his arm and drapes it over her shoulder.

He leans down to kiss her. "Hey. What took you so long? Everything okay?"

She scrunches her nose up. "Had a weird run-in with this guy at Joaquin's trailer. He wanted to buy my power."

Archie frowns. "What happened?"

"He came to the trailer looking to buy a telekinetic power. Joaquin begged me to give it him, said this kid had more money than sense and we could split it. But I said no, as always, and the kid got really angry. Starting trashing the trailer. Joaquin was pissed. I left before things got really bad."

He knows she wasn't hurt, but the thought of a guy acting that way around her made his blood boil. What was wrong with him?

"Do you know who the guy was?"

She shrugs. "Didn't get his name but I know he goes to Riverdale."

"What did he look like?" Betty asks.

"Black hair. Thick, black glasses. Kind of nerdy."

"Huh. Sounds like Dilton Doiley," Jughead points out. "Wonder how he found out about the powers."

"Joaquin's been putting posters up all over town," Toni explains. "I told him it was a bad idea. It'll expose people like us and attract the wrong kind of customer, this asshole being a case in point."

"Well lets just hope Joaquin turned him away."

A sinking feeling settles in Archie's stomach. He didn't like this at all. Why would Dilton need a power? And the aggression didn't sound like him. He was usually on the receiving end, no matter how many times Archie told Chuck and Reggie to lay off.

Veronica arrives then, drink in hand.

"Are you guys talking about Dilton?" she asks. "He was here, like, two hours ago. He tried to get in but Chuck threw him out before he even step foot in here. He was really harsh, too - pinned him up against the wall and spat on him."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Archie demands.

"I wasn't there!" Veronica defends herself. "And I absolutely would have if I had been. I don't tolerate mean girls _or_ mean guys, and especially not when they're called Chuck Clayton." She shoots him a haughty look then. "Don't know why you're so mad at me, anyway. There _your_ friends."

They were, he couldn't deny that. But that didn't make it right.

"Sounds like you need some new friends, babe."

Maybe. But Chuck had just graduated and would be going to college in the fall, and hopefully Reggie would calm down without him around.

He sighs and drains the rest of his beer. "I'm gonna get another. Do you want anything?"

Toni shakes her head and he leaves quickly, pushing his way through the crowd to the kitchen. This Dilton thing had him riled up and feeling out of sorts. He needed a drink to take the edge off.

 

 

 

He opens up the bag again, finger running down his list as he checks the contents inside. He didn't need all of this stuff, not anymore, but he wanted to be prepared.

Total devastation, that was his aim. He wanted every asshole in that building to know what they had put him through, to feel his pain. And with this new power coursing through his veins, he could achieve that.

He wouldn't have to wait much longer.

 

 

 

It was their free period, the first one of the new school semester. They were supposed to be working on the Blue and Gold, putting together the first issue of the year.

Instead, Jughead has Betty pinned up against the wall of the office storage closet.

"Fuck, Juggie," she moans, face buried in his neck. "I'm so close."

He drives into her faster, harder, his fingers gripping onto her waist. One of her hand slips down to touch herself and soon she is clenching around him, lips parted and head thrown back against the wall. He follows soon after, moaning into her skin as he releases.

"You're gonna kill me one day," Jughead pants as he pulls out and drops her down onto her feet. "Quickies on school grounds. Who are you and what have you done with Betty Cooper?"

She giggles and catches him around the neck to pull him close for a kiss.

"You love it."

"I do," he agrees. "I really, really do."

He throws the condom into the waste basket in the corner and zips up his jeans. Betty straightens out her skirt and smoothes down her sweater, before tightening her ponytail.

"How do I look?" she asks, doing a little twirl.

"I didn't think it was possible to be adorable after a quick fuck in a closet," he teases, pulling her closer. He kisses her. "You look perfect."

She rolls her eyes but doesn't argue with him.

"I'm gonna head to the cafeteria and grab a snack. Do you want anything?" he asks as they re-enter the office.

"Just a water," she answers.

He walks out into the empty hallway, flicking open his wallet as he takes out a few dollar bills. He turns the corner, the cafeteria doors straight ahead.

It's quiet in the school, most students in class or in the library, so when he hears the first shot, he jumps in shock. All the hairs rise on the back of his neck. Something was wrong. Something was _really_ wrong.

There's a loud crash, more shots and then a strange sound echoing through the hallway, almost like the lightsabers in Star Wars. He stuffs the bills into his pockets and cracks his neck, before sprinting around the corner and back to the office.

What he finds makes his blood run cold.

There are bullet holes in the walls and ceiling, and one of the walls has a huge crack running through it. Smoke billows from the crack, the edges burning like embers. It was like someone had cut through the wall and set it aflame.

He sprints towards the office, the short distance feeling endless in his panic. He slams the door open, freezing when he sees the scene before him.

Dilton is stood in front of him, chest heaving with exertion. There are guns strapped to his sides, a hunting jacket over his shoulders and his furious gaze is fixed on a sobbing Betty.

"Don't move!" Dilton shouts as Betty begins to back away, moving further into the corner of the room.

"Please, Dilton," she begs. "Please don't hurt me."

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!"

An alarm sounds above them as Principal Weatherbee announces over the speaker, "Stay inside your classrooms. Do not enter the hallways. I repeat, stay inside your classrooms."

Jughead appears then, making himself visible to Betty. Her eyes widen and he lifts a finger to his lips, instructing her to be quiet. Silently, he lifts a paperweight from the nearby desk and smashes it across the back of Dilton's head. He falls immediately, the blow knocking him to the ground.

Jughead rushes over to Betty, gripping onto her arms as his eyes dart over her, checking for any injuries.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Betty shakes her head, her sobs taking her breath away. "I'm okay. I'm fine."

He grips the back of her neck to pull her close when hears the strange noise again and red light fills the room. Betty freezes beneath him, eyes bugging out as blood begins to spill from her mouth. Jughead looks down, disoriented and confused, and sees the beam of light piercing through Betty's side.

His head snaps over to Dilton who is propped up against the wall, blood pouring down his face and one hand outstretched, the beam extending from his palm. The beam suddenly disappears, back into Dilton's hand, and Betty collapses against Jughead.

Her weight is a shock and he stumbles back as he snaps out of his confusion.

"Betty?!" he yells as he lowers them both to the floor.

She is cold and boneless against him, face pale and eyelids fluttering. He looks down at her body, a sob breaking from his throat as he sees the huge wound in her stomach and the blood pouring from it, staining her pink sweater dark red.

"No, no, no. Betty, please!" he cries, clutching her to him.

There's another sob to his right and Jughead looks over at Dilton, who is curled into a ball against the wall.

"What did you do?!" Jughead screams, desperate. "What the fuck did you do to her?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Dilton cries, rocking back and forth. "I didn't think it would feel like this. It wasn't supposed to feel like this."

Jughead can barely breathe, his crying loud enough to be heard over the alarm.

"Baby, please. Just hold on. We'll get help! Please. I love you," he begs, but it's no use.

Her lips part, one last rattling breath leaving her body before her eyes fall shut, and her body falls limp and lifeless.

An anguished wail leaves his throat, the sound almost inhuman. Dilton scrambles to his feet and stumbles out of the room, but Jughead's grief is loud and piercing even out there. Unable to stand it any longer, Dilton reaches for his gun. He presses the barrel to his temple and pulls the trigger, body crumpling to the ground.

Jughead curls over Betty's body protectively, sobs wracking through his body, forehead pressed to hers as he rocks them back and forth. He can't let her go. He needs to stay with her, be with her, always.

He stays like that for what could be hours or just minutes, holding her tightly as she grows colder in his arms. He doesn't even notice when the cops arrive.

 

 

 

"I tried taking us back, man, but it won't work!" Archie cries, hands buried in his hair. "It won't fucking work!"

"Archie, stop," Kevin shouts, voice hoarse with emotion. "It's done. She's gone. There's nothing we can do."

Jughead watches the coroner's car drive away, the girl he loves wrapped up in a body bag and placed in the back. The tears keep falling, hot and fast, but he says nothing. Doesn't answer Veronica's frantic questions, doesn't assure Archie that there's nothing else to be done.

The cops can't make sense of it - precise destruction to the walls, a huge hole torn straight through the stomach of a teenage girl. It's almost like a laser was used; how could he have inflicted that kind of damage with a gun?

They'll never understand.

Jughead stuffs his hands into his coat pockets, still coated in Betty's dried blood. He turns abruptly and walks off into the parking lot, ignoring the yelling behind him as he locks himself in his truck.

The drive is a blur; Jughead has no memory of getting from the school to his apartment. It's quiet inside, the absence of her palpable in the eerie stillness. Jughead throws himself back onto the bed, a strange numbness settling over him. What was the point of all of this, without her? His head falls to the side, fresh tears - he hadn't even realized he was crying again - sliding down his temple as he catches sight of the huge clock on the wall. Beneath it, the date.

It was _the_ date. The date on the envelope. Why hadn't he paid attention to the fucking date?!

He jumps up from the bed and runs over to the bookshelf, pulling away the bookend and the copy of _In Cold Blood_ , sending them crashing to the floor. He pulls the envelope away and tears it open, scattering the contents across the desk. Money, notepaper, some other items.

The notepaper is a list, reads:

 _GO TO JOAQUIN_  
_Foresight_  
_Two-way time travel_  
_Immunity_

He flips the envelope over and reads the message scrawled on the front again.

_If all goes wrong on this date, open this envelope. The contents inside will help you. You'll know what to do._

And somehow, he does.

 

 

 

"Alright, alright. I'm coming," Joaquin groans, rubbing at his eyes sleepily.

The banging continues, relentlessly pounding against his door. He unlocks it and swings it open, stumbling back as a hand closes around his throat.

"What the fuck-"

His eyes lock on Jughead's as he slams him back against the wall, shocked by the fury he sees in them.

"He killed her. You gave him that fucking power and he killed her."

"What are you talking about?" he mutters, struggling to speak over the pressure around his throat.

Jughead releases him, falling back against his sofa as his anger crumples into pure anguish.

"That guy - the nerd with the black glasses - he tried to shoot up Riverdale High. He killed Betty."

"W-what?" Joaquin stutters. Was that why Kevin had been calling him all afternoon? He'd screened all of his calls, wanting to nap uninterrupted. "Was anyone else hurt? Did he hurt Kev-"

"There was no one else. Just her. It was random, I think. And as soon as he killed her he curled up into the fetal position and killed himself." Jughead snorts harshly. "Fucking coward."

"Jug, man, I'm so sor-"

"What was that power?"

"Radiation manipulation," he answers. "He said he wanted the most dangerous power I had. He had so much cash, Jug, I couldn't turn him awa-"

"No excuses. You gave him that power and he killed the love of my life," Jughead says through gritted teeth, the anger now back in full force. His eyes narrow in on Joaquin. "So now I think you owe me a favor, don't you?" Joaquin nods quickly. "Good. Now shut the fuck up and do what I say."

He pulls a slip of paper from his coat pocket and holds it out to him.

"I need these powers. And if you don't have them yet, I need you to go out and find them. Got it?" Joaquin nods again. "Do you have them?"

"I've got immunity and foresight, but not time travel. I know who has it, though. I can get it for you."

Jughead rises from the sofa and places the paper on the kitchen counter.

"You have two days."

The door swings shut behind him, the force rattling the trailer. Joaquin pushes himself up off the floor and grabs his cell phone. He had a few calls to make.

 

 

 

"What are you gonna do? Do you even have a plan?" Veronica asks tearfully. She was always crying now, ever since they lost her.

"Not really," he admits. "I have some ideas but nothing set in stone."

She presses her fingers beneath her eyes, wiping away the moisture. She steps closer and places her hands on his arms. Her gaze is steady as she meets his eye.

"Go save our girl."

"I will," he promises.

She draws him into a hug then, tight and fierce. It's one of many hugs he's received in the last two weeks but instead of condolences, this one is filled with support and friendship. This one is a goodbye.

He hugs them all - even Cheryl - and tells them to take care of themselves. He'll miss them, his misfit group of friends, but he knows it has to be this way. Besides, he'll see them again soon.

Hood drawn up over his head, he makes his way to the roof of Riverdale High's main building. As time turns back, as the events of the last year are erased, Jughead pulls the mask down over his head.

He stands there, still, hidden from sight as he overlooks the parking lot below. It's Wednesday, the day after the storm, and students are just arriving to start their school day.

A silver car pulls into the lot and parks in an empty spot. From the driver's side, Archie emerges, red hair tousled by the wind. The left side door opens and a familiar head of blonde hair appears, swept up into her usual ponytail. He smiles beneath the mask as his heart clenches in his chest. He watches her walk towards the school, arms wrapped around her books and head ducked low, mood already dampened by the discovery of her powers.

She's beautiful, even from this distance, and he wants more than anything to go to her and feel her, living and breathing, in his arms.

In that moment, he swears to himself that he will save her.

 


	4. part iv: rewind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last one! the rules of time travel are slightly skewed here. i planned this for a while when writing my outline and wanted it to make as much sense as possible, but i'm sure there are still holes. lets call it artistic licensing! 
> 
> i'm hoping to have a second halloween au up this week, so look out for that! shorter this time - this story really kicked my ass 
> 
> usual tw: blood, violence, suicide 
> 
> thanks to everyone who has read this and left comments & kudos. i love you all

The first thing he does is make a timeline. It's vague, none of the dates exact and pieces definitely missing from the time his future self spent with Betty. He pins paper up on one wall of his apartment, places a huge map in the center that soon becomes covered in red ink.

There are four key events:  
\- The storm  
\- Future Jughead meets Betty  
\- Future Jughead dies protecting Betty  
\- Dilton goes on a rampage, Betty dies

The resolution to all of this lies in one of these events, he's sure of it. He formulates his first plan two days after turning back. He's going to stop Dilton.

It's quiet in the trailer park, the chirping of crickets the only sound around. Jughead waits behind the trailer, watching as Kevin kisses Joaquin goodbye and drives away.

He pulls his mask down as soon as his car is out of sight and approaches the trailer. He can see Joaquin through the window, stretched out along his sofa, watching TV. Jughead's hand flexes around the gun at his side, ready to draw. He knocks twice.

"Who is it?" Joaquin yells but Jughead doesn't answer.

He knocks again. Joaquin rises from the sofa with a groan and makes his way over to the door. Jughead braces himself, ready to attack as soon the door is opened.

"What the-"

Joaquin is cut off abruptly as Jughead presses the barrel of the gun beneath his chin. He swallows, hands raised in surrender.

"Hey, there's no need for that, man. Just tell me what you want."

He pushes Joaquin inside, slamming the door shut behind him. With the gun still pressed against him, he backs Joaquin against the wall.

"I have instructions for you," Jughead says, voice muffled by the mask but his words still clear. "And you better pay attention."

Joaquin nods quickly. "I will, I will! Just please don't shoot me."

"There's a guy from Riverdale High - a junior. In a few months, he's gonna come to you and ask you to sell him a power. You're not gonna do it," he states. "His name is Dilton Doiley and he's dangerous."

"I- I don't- I don't know who he is," Joaquin stammers. "I've never heard of him."

"I'm gonna give you a description and I want you to remember it. Write it down if you have to."

"O-okay."

"5' 9", black hair, thick black glasses. He has a small scar above his right eyebrow and usually wears a green hunting jacket. You got that?" Joaquin nods. "If anyone who fits that description comes by asking for powers, you need to turn them away. Even if you have to use force, turn them away."

"Okay. Okay. I will. I promise."

Jughead pulls back, gun still in hand but now by his side. Joaquin stays rooted to the spot, trembling in fear. He's surprised by his reaction. The guy dealt with some of the sketchiest people on the Southside everyday. He hadn't expected him to be this scared but Jughead was going to use it to his advantage.

"If I find out you've sold him the power, I'll fucking kill you. Understand?"

Joaquin nods again and Jughead presses the gun to his stomach, pushing just slightly into the softness.

"I want to hear you say it."

"I- I understand."

"Good."

Jughead backs away then, eyes trained on Joaquin as he exits the trailer. He slams the door shut and cracks his neck, before sprinting off into the surrounding woods until he reaches his car.

Adrenaline courses through his body but his mind is clear. He just hopes that he has done enough.

 

 

 

The day arrives. Jughead rises from a sleepless night, immediately switches on the television and waits.

Since coming back, he hasn't seen Betty or any of the others. He still watched over them but he rarely interfered.

He killed Grundy a week after his return so she didn't even get the chance to hurt them. His main goal was to stop Dilton from killing Betty and with Grundy gone, he needed to focus on that. By never revealing himself to Betty, things were less complicated. She didn't have to lie to her friends, didn't have to keep secrets, and they never went looking for him.

Betty was safe. She wasn't cornered by Gunner, didn't have to watch him die and hide the evidence. He desperately wanted to see her but he knew this was for the best. He wasn't even sure if she and his present self had found their way to each other or if she was still dating Archie. But it didn't matter. None of it did, as long as she was alive.

So he waits. All morning he sits in front of the TV, stomach knotted up with anxiety. His memories of this day are fresh and painful, the image of Betty's lifeless body burned into his brain.

At 11.17am there is a breaking news report - SHOOTING AT RIVERDALE HIGH SCHOOL.

He shuts off the TV, unable to hear another second. It hadn't worked; his plan had failed. Without the power, Dilton had used a gun to carry out his plan instead.

He turns back until he's standing in front of his wall again, staring at his notes and plans and the red-covered map.

Time for Plan B.

 

 

 

He's kind of impressed with his present self. He puts up a hell of a fight when he grabs him and drags him behind the trailer.

"Get off me!" present-Jughead shouts, pulling at the arm around his neck. He quickly covers his mouth with his hand.

"I need you to listen to me. I have important information you need to know."

"Well your social skills fucking suck," he bites back, still struggling. "Important conversations don't usually involve kidnapping."

God, he was a smartass, even when he was being manhandled by a stranger. But there was no fear there - Joaquin should take notes.

"It's about the storm," Jughead states and his present self freezes.

A pause.

"What about it?"

Jughead turns until he has him pinned against the wall. He loosens his hold but there's still no way he's getting free.

"Powers are being distributed and they're going to end up in the wrong hands," he replies. "Dilton Doiley's hands."

" _Dilton_? What's he gonna do? The guy spends half his life in the dumpster."

"Yeah, and he's really angry about it. Not just angry - _murderous_."

His eyebrows pinch together. "Who the hell are you? And why are you telling me all of this stuff? It doesn't make any sense."

"You don't need to know who I am, you just need to know I'm here to help you. All of you."

Jughead wishes he could reveal himself, could take off the mask and show him how serious he is. But that can't happen. He needs present-Jughead to focus on Dilton.

"You need to befriend Dilton. You need to make him see that he's not alone, that there are good people around him."

"And what happens if I don't? What happens if Dilton doesn't want to be my friend and tells me to fuck off?"

"Then you need to try harder," he states firmly. "Dilton is on the edge of going full berserker. We're talking Columbine levels of devastation."

Jughead's eyes widen. "What? Are you serious? But Dilton would never... I know those assholes make his life hell, but..."

He trails off, a deep frown settling over his features. He'd read the books, had seen the documentaries - he knew a school shooting wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Especially when someone was pushed too far.

"Please tell me that you'll try. It's important."

"Okay," he says quietly. "I'll try."

 

 

 

Jughead watches him through the months, jumping forward through time to see how things progress. He makes good on his promise - he and Dilton become friends. They spend most of their time together, watching movies and working on fixing up the old truck in Jughead's yard.

He never quite makes it into the gang. They're not mean to him but they don't welcome him either. He doesn't have a power; he's still an outsider.

The bullying continues but Jughead is there to help now. He tends to his wounds, helps him let his frustration out on his dad's old punching bag. And then they go back to watching movies, ignoring the torment he receives at school.

On the day of the shooting, Jughead turns on the TV feeling positive, like he might have actually figured it out.

That evening it's announced that Jughead was Dilton's first victim.

 

 

 

Doiley is a dead-end. He realizes this soon after his second attempt at curbing his plans.

Dilton isn't a bullied kid who just snapped. He's a psychopath.

Jughead observes him after the third shooting, stalking him and watching his behavior. He's manipulative of his parents, wanting for nothing but still demanding more. He has them wrapped around his finger, willing to give him anything he asks for after he guilt-trips them - even enough money to buy a horde of guns.

He's a pathological liar, too. Always bragging to his few friends outside of Riverdale High that he was skilled in martial arts, had multiple girlfriends, scored high on tests he failed. He lies everyday, to everyone.

But the thing that bothers Jughead most is his lack of remorse. His sobbing and crying after Betty's death, after present-Jughead's death - it wasn't guilt he was feeling over taking a life; it was self-pity, dismayed that even murdering someone hadn't made him feel as exhilarated as he thought it would.

Jughead doesn't believe Dilton deserved to be bullied, to be tormented mercilessly. Nobody did. But there was a reason why not every teenager who was bullied went on a killing spree. They didn't have the instinct in them.

But Dilton did.

 

 

 

During the third loop, Jughead spends a full week brainstorming new ideas. He maps out new plans, weighing up the possible outcomes of each one. With the Dilton option no longer available, he had to go another route if he wanted to save Betty.

He's so caught up in his plans, holing himself up inside the apartment, that he forgets about his responsibilities outside of it. Like killing Grundy.

Before school lets out, Jughead disconnects the ignition on her car. He knows he'll need to deal with her later but he struggles to find her alone. She's always at school or tutoring, and he can't kill her at home without someone finding the body and launching an investigation. That's attention he doesn't need.

But disconnecting the ignition does mean that she can't hit Betty with her car. He has to wait until she goes full beast-mode before he can really take care of her.

He is consumed by planning once again, desperate to come up with a new solution. He is exhausted most days, his sleep unsettled and fitful, often waking up in the middle of the night to write down something new.

The worst part is, he forgets to set his alarms.

Jughead doesn't realize it's the day of Grundy's attack until it's thirty minutes too late. He races over to the school, abandoning his car in the nearby woods before sprinting inside.

There's a trial of blood leading to the break room door, dark against the grey linoleum. He can hear snarling, loud and rumbling, coming from the room. He knows he needs to go in there, needs to kill her, but the thought of the scene he will find has him gasping for breath.

He leans up against the wall and takes a few deep breaths, willing the panic attack away. His hand curls around the gun, ready to shoot.

He approaches the room slowly, peering just slightly around the door until he has her in view. She's hunched over a body - Jughead can't look long enough to identify it - chewing on the bloody intestines. He swallows back bile and takes one last deep breath before aiming his gun and firing.

The bullet tears through Grundy's grotesque head, brain matter flying across the wall as she collapses.

Jughead slides his gun back into the holster and takes a careful step into the room. There is blood everywhere, staining the walls, the floor, the windows.

He can see the inanimate body of his present self slumped over against the wall but looks away quickly. Betty is draped across the sofa, a deep wound in her neck and her lifeless eyes wide open in fear.

He walks over to her and closes her eyes with the soft press of two fingertips. After laying a kiss against her forehead, he straightens up and stares straight ahead. Within seconds, he is back in his apartment, staring at the clock on the wall.

It's one day after the storm, the fourth loop, and Jughead has a new plan.

 

 

 

"How are you- How is this-" She shakes her head in disbelief. "I don't understand this at all."

He approaches her slowly, taking careful steps. He has an almost overwhelming desire to take her into his arms and hold her tight, so tight that he can feel the beat of her heart against his chest. Instead he remains cautious, not wanting to scare her. He's not sure how his past self handled their first meeting but he's sure that there's no version of him that would want to upset Betty.

"I know this is hard to process but I promise you, I don't wanna hurt you. I only want to protect you."

Her throat bobs as she swallows thickly.

"I- I have to go," she says quietly.

"At least let me clean your head," he says, eyeing the deep red cut above her eyebrow.

She nods. "Okay."

"Sit here," he says, pulling a stool in front of him. She takes a seat as he searches through his locker for his first aid kit.

"This might hurt," he murmurs as he dips the pad into the antiseptic solution.

From this position, he can smell the familiar floral scent of her perfume, can feel the ghost of her breath across his hand as he reaches up to push back her hair. He moves a strand back, tucking it behind her ear. Her breath hitches as his fingertips skim the shell of her ear and his eyes dart to hers. Their eyes lock, only breaking contact when she abruptly looks away.

She hisses as he cleans the wound but he works swiftly, not wanting to cause her too much discomfort.

"I really should go now," she says as she stands from the stool, the cut now a small pink line on her forehead. "Thanks... for saving me... and fixing me up." She offers him a small, tight smile.

He smiles back and steps away, giving her space.

"That's alright. I'm just happy that you're okay."

She stares at him for one long moment, studying him. He feels vulnerable under her gaze, as if the love and desperation he feels for her is oozing out of every pore and she can sense it. He hopes that isn't the case. Betty doesn't need to be overwhelmed; she needs to discover things over time.

There's a sharp tug in his chest as he watches the doors of the elevator close. He knows this isn't the last time he'll see her but in his time its been just weeks since she lay cold and lifeless in his arms. For a time he had faced the prospect of a world without Betty. The sense of panic he feels at watching her go is probably a normal reaction in a very abnormal situation.

He just hopes this was the right move. Revealing himself to her could potentially expose her to even more trouble, but on the other hand, maybe she needed him as much as he needed her.

With a sigh, he drops down face-first onto his bed and buries his face in the pillows. He slides his hands along the sheets, pausing when he feels the coolness of metal beneath his fingers.

He lifts the item and holds it up to the light. It was a necklace, thin and silver, with a single bird pendant in the center.

 

 

 

They kiss for the first time - in this loop, at least - two weeks after their first meeting. Her break-up with Archie is fresh, occurring just hours before, but she doesn't seem upset, more resigned.

The softness of her lips is so familiar but no less exciting than the first time they kissed in his time. He feels the same thrill, the same tingle.

His weeks with present-Betty have consisted of constant questions, shy smiles and heated glances. He's found it hard to hide how much he wants her, often catching himself looking at her heatedly when she does certain things - biting her lip in thought, arching her neck as she stretches, swinging her hips as she walks across the apartment. She doesn't seem to mind, usually meeting his look with a flirty quirk of her lips.

Their first kiss is sweet and tentative, but the second, third, are more passionate, more desperate. They're swept up in each other, tumbling back onto Jughead's bed as their hands map each other's bodies, memorizing each other.

Things don't go any further. It'll be another week before Betty enters the apartment with a determined look in her eye and straddles him on his bed. He'll make love to her, show her just how much he adores her with his hot kisses and soft touches. He'll tell her he loves her and call her 'baby' and she'll smile beautifully, glowing in his affection.

He'll fall in love with her all over again and it will feel just as amazing as it did the first time.

 

 

 

He knows the night of the gang's investigative trip to the Whyte Wyrm is the night he dies. Betty had told him, tearfully, about Gunner's attack and how his future self had intervened.

It can't happen in this loop. He can't die now, when he's gathered so much information and still hasn't found the answer. His present self doesn't know about him either, has no knowledge of what his life could entail. If he dies, all of this will have been for nothing.

"Stay here with me," he says into her neck, burying his face in the soft, scented skin.

"Juggie, you know I can't," she replies, twisting her fingers through the hair at his nape.

He leans back to look at her. "Yes, you can. The others can go without you. There's five of them - they'll be okay."

"That's not the point," she argues. "We need to stick together."

"It's just one night," he reasons. "And I know they're not going to get any information about me from the Serpents. They'll spend the whole night drinking and I know you don't wanna be a part of that."

She sighs, gaze dropping as she bites the inside of her lip.

"You've already lived this night, right?" she asks, looking up at him. "And nothing goes wrong?"

He shakes his head, pushing back the guilt that rises as he lies to her, "Nothing, I promise." It's a necessary lie. She doesn't need to know about the more tragic version of this night.

"Then I'll stay," she finally relents. He smiles and kisses her, happy in his victory. "I should probably call Veronica."

She steps out of his embrace and pulls her phone from her pocket. He watches her wander around the apartment, phone held up to hear as she chats with Veronica.

He feels content. She wasn't going to get hurt tonight and he wouldn't either. Maybe his plans were finally working.

 

 

 

"Juggie. Juggie!"

He wakes suddenly, feeling disoriented. A hand is closed around his arm, shaking him awake as someone calls out to him. It takes him a second to realize it's Betty and the tone of her voice is panicked and broken.

"Betts?" he murmurs, squinting up at her in the darkness. She's kneeling on her side of his bed, tears trailing down her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

"Cheryl just called me. It's... It's Veronica." She takes in a shaky breath. "She's dead."

She falls into his arms as she begins to sob, body shaking as she is consumed by grief. Jughead is frozen, shock sending a chill down his spine.

He already knows the answer but he still asks, "What happened?"

"She left the Whyte Wyrm alone and got cornered by this guy. After he... after he hurt her, he fled, but the other Serpents know who he is," she explains, voice weak and shaky. "Cheryl said they want to find him before the cops do; punish him their way. She said his name was-"

"Gunner," Jughead finishes.

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

He doesn't answer.

 

 

 

The town is shaken by the senseless, random murder of the Lodge daughter. It's horrible to watch the gang, his friends, grieve her and struggle to cope with the loss.

He tries to support Betty as best as he can but he knows he's distracted. He can't stop thinking about what this means. Did one of them _have_ to die in any universe? Is their fate sealed? Could he continue living in this Veronica-free world as long as Betty was alive?

The last questions unsettles him. He wouldn't trade Betty's life for anything but he didn't want to lose someone else in exchange. It wasn't fair. Veronica was loved, too, had friends and family that want her here with them - himself included.

And Cheryl. Poor Cheryl, who hadn't experienced Veronica's love in this loop but was still devestated by her passing. Jughead doesn't think his love for Betty is any more important than the love Cheryl and Veronica shared.

He isn't sure where to go from here.

He moves through time, speeding through two weeks to see how things have moved on. There's a constant sadness among the group now, that's the first thing he notices, and the town is still mourning. Betty is morose, sunny disposition non-existent as she tries to process living without her best friend. She rarely smiles, even when they're alone.

One afternoon he finds Betty sat on the floor in the apartment, a red box resting on her lap.

"What's that?" he asks, nodding towards the box.

"A box of keepsakes from Veronica's bedroom," she answers. "Her mom dropped it off at my house today. It's all stuff from her time in Riverdale. I guess her mom wanted it all gone before they move back."

"Move back?"

"To New York." Betty picks up a photograph from the box and Jughead can see the wobble of her chin and the shake of her hands as she stares at it. "They're removing all traces of her. It'll be like she never existed."

"Hey," he murmurs, dropping down next to her. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her against his side. "We'll keep her memory alive. She'll always be important to us. Not even Hermione Lodge can take that from us."

Betty nods but there are still tears in her eyes. "I know, it's just hard to see. I miss her so much, Jug."

"Me, too, Betts." He presses a kiss to her temple.

"I found this, too," she says, holding up a folded sheet of paper. "I think it's from Veronica's journal but it looks like she tore it out. It's about... Cheryl." Her eyebrows draw together as she says her name.

"What about Cheryl?" he asks, but he already has an idea.

"I knew they had gotten closer since the storm but.... I think they were more than friends."

"Wow," he breathes out, raising his eyebrows for effect. "That's kind of crazy."

"I know. Who would have guessed? Veronica and Cheryl, a love story." She smiles sadly, new tears forming. "So many people loved her, Jug. And now she's gone and Cheryl will never know how she felt." Her fingers traces across the elegant black writing on the paper. "Maybe I should give this to Cheryl. I know it'll hurt but I feel bad keeping it from her."

Jughead doesn't comment. He doesn't know what to say. If he was in Cheryl's place, he'd definitely want to know. Betty's love for him was a bright spot in his short, unfortunate life and now that he'd experienced it, he couldn't imagine being without it. Even if she was gone.

He wonders what Cheryl would do if she was in his position, able to turn back time and get her girl. Would she sacrifice other people's happiness for the sake of her own?

 

 

 

Betty has known Cheryl for a long time, since they were children, but never in all of those years has Betty seen her heartbroken.

Jason's death devastated her, leaving her bitter and twisted and lost. But Veronica's death has broken her heart in two, snatching away a connection she'd never experienced before. Deep down, Cheryl wanted to love and be loved. Now the only person she had ever seen herself experiencing that with was dead.

"It's my fault," she says quietly.

The locker room is empty, the rest of the cheerleaders off to class. Betty had hung back, wanting to check on Cheryl. She couldn't imagine what it was like to lose someone you had a connection with. If anything ever happened to Jughead...

Betty tentatively reaches out to touch her shoulder. "Of course it isn't. There's no way you could have known that guy was waiting outside the bar. It was a random attack. He would have hurt any woman he came across."

"But I made her leave," she argues, a crack in her voice. "If I hadn't tried to kiss her, she wouldn't have left like she did. And that _disgusting pig_ wouldn't have been anywhere near her."

Betty sighs heavily and pulls the folded journal page from her bag. This morning she was still undecided about giving it to Cheryl but hearing her blaming herself had cemented her decision.

"Look, I don't know what happened that night but I do know that you weren't alone. Veronica really cared about you, Cheryl. You were more than just her friend."

Cheryl licks her dry lips as she quickly wipes away a tear.

"I think you should read this." Betty passes her the journal entry. "I found it in a box of Veronica's things. I hope it helps."

Cheryl doesn't read the letter until she is alone. Curled up on the floor, back resting against the lockers, she reads Veronica's words. An admission; evidence that she felt the same way.

 

_I've noticed girls for as long as I've noticed guys, but this is different. I've never wanted to be with any of those girls, never wanted to spend all day kissing them and learning about them and staring at them._

_She's different. Special. It's an inadequate word but it's true._

 

Cheryl expects sadness, tears, melancholy. Instead she feels white hot rage, boiling inside of her as she reads the page for the fourth time.

Veronica deserved to be loved and cherished, but a lowlife piece of shit had ended any possibility of that. Cheryl is so angry at the injustice of it all. She could have loved Veronica the way she deserved, if only she had had the chance.

Her whole body is humming, practically vibrating with anger. She rips the paper in two and screams until her throat is hoarse.

She doesn't know when it starts, the uncontrollable fire bursting from her fingertips, her palms, but before she can make sense of anything she is marching down the hallway, the locker room burning behind her.

The flames encompass any object she passes until the whole hallway is engulfed in fire, hot flames licking at the walls and rising to the ceiling. A thick blanket of smoke is already settling over the building but Cheryl doesn't notice. All she can see is red; her hair, her fire, her rage.

As she stands in the parking lot watching the fire consume the school, she is overcome by a sense of deja vu, triggering a memory of that night at Thornhill over a year ago. Maybe this is what she does when she loses someone she loves - destroys everything in sight.

Of course, this is so different from that October night. At Thornhill there were no victims, no palms pressed against the windows in panic, desperate to escape.

That night she had felt alive. Now she just feels numb.

 

 

 

He is miserable. He is at a loss.

There doesn't seem to be answer. He hides from Betty, she dies. He reveals himself and someone else meets their fate. It wasn't fair. There had to be a way to keep her alive without losing someone in the process.

He isn't going to see her again. Not in this new loop or any others. Present Betty could not know about him. If he reveals himself, someone will die at the Whyte Wyrm, he realizes that now. And he can't sacrifice himself - he needs to be here.

So revealing his identity is no longer an option.

He makes a vow to stay away from her, from all of them. Maybe that had been the answer along. If he just let them live their lives, would they figure things out?

It's a hard promise to stick to. He worries constantly, mind racing with possibilities. Images flash through his mind - the grisly scene in the break room; Betty's  body in his arms; Veronica's black casket beside her framed portrait. It's an endless cycle of horror and grief.

His impatience gets the best of him eventually. He can't stop himself from moving forward, two months into the future, to check in on them.

He has avoided the TV, social media, the newspaper. He needs to see them with his own eyes; see Veronica bossy and pink-cheeked and alive, and Betty standing beside her.

It's lunch time when he breaks into the school, standing, invisible, in the corner of the break room. He watches them filter in one-by-one, taking a seat on the sofas. But while there should be six, there are five. He frowns.

He studies them, tracing each face. A lump forms in his throat as he sees the distraught, sallow faces of Archie and Veronica. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

"I met this guy from the Southside at Reggie's party. He deals powers, like give them and remove them. And he sells them."

"Where are you going with this?" Kevin asks.

"What if he has a power that can bring her back? Or - I don't know - take us back to before she died. He has to have something that can fix this."

"Archie, come on," present-Jughead says disapprovingly. "Buying from a known drug-dealer on the Southside. Trying to bring back the dead. This isn't going to end well."

"Maybe not," Archie snaps, anger sparking in his tone. "But I can't sit around here doing nothing when I know this could be the answer."

"But what if it's not?" Veronica argues. "I miss her, too, Archie. You know I do. But some things shouldn't be messed with."

"I don't care. I have a chance to bring her back and I'm not going to ignore it."

With those parting words, he abruptly leaves the room. Silence falls over the group.

"He's making a mistake," present-Jughead says. "But he's so consumed by grief that he can't see it."

Jughead feels sick. Betty was dead, _again_. Even removing himself from her life completely couldn't save her.

He pulls out his phone and searches, 'Elizabeth Cooper obituary'. The first result that comes up is an article from the local newspaper, detailing the hit and run accident in the Riverdale High parking lot that left one female student dead. The driver still hadn't been identified but he knew exactly who it was.

Part of him wants to track Grundy down and avenge Betty but he needed to get his priorities in order. He had to follow Archie and make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Grundy would have to wait.

 

 

 

Invisible inside of Joaquin's trailer, he listens in on his and Archie's meeting.

"She's dead, man. My girlfriend is dead and there was nothing I could do to save her," he says, sniffling. His voice cracks as he speaks, emotion sitting heavy in his throat. "You have to help me. You have to give me something that can fix this."

"I do have one thing," Joaquin replies. "But it's risky. The original owner didn't tell me how the power worked, what the side-effects were. It may not give you the results you want."

"What is it?"

"The power of resurrection."

Archie uses all of his savings to buy it.

 

 

 

Jughead watches in amazement as the partially decomposed body of the girl he loves morphs into a pink-cheeked, blemish-free, living and breathing human again.

With a single touch of Archie's hand to her chest, life is breathed back into her. The decomposition disappears, her skin and muscle and bone mending itself and becoming whole again. She blinks rapidly, green eyes as bright and clear as ever, and lips once again pink with blood.

They embrace, relief and joy clear on Archie's face. Jughead stays hidden behind the tree, overwhelmed at seeing her alive again. No matter how many times he'd watched her die, it never got any easier.

Their lips meet in a soft kiss and Jughead turns away. She was alive, she was okay. He didn't need to watch anymore.

 

 

 

He experiences something like heartbreak when he realizes this could be the answer. For Betty to live, she and Jughead could never be together.

As much as it hurt to know that she was with Archie and would remain that way for a while - possibly forever - it hurt more to know she was dead. If heartbreak was the price he had to pay for her life, he would accept it a thousand times over.

He can't resist checking up on her, on them. Weeks of surveillance, spent hiding in buildings and on rooftops, looking for signs that something is amiss. But all seems well. The paper runs a story about the girl who was buried alive and somehow survived, and she settles back into her life easily.

He wants to see progress. If he's going to turn his back on a life with Betty, he needs to know that she's happy in the long-term, not just the immediate aftermath.

This is the longest he's jumped forward - a year. He stands in his apartment, watching time slip by, until he's there, twelve months ahead. A frown immediately settles over his face.

The walls of his apartment are dirty and the inside has been trashed, all of his furniture and belongings scattered everywhere. Only two of the ceiling lights are on, flickering and faint.

He's not sure what has happened to his home but he isn't going to worry about it now. He decides to head outside, checks his watch. It's a Tuesday morning - everyone would be at school.

The elevator creeps slowly down the shaft and he can sense that something is amiss but he doesn't question it just yet. When he reaches the entrance, it is deserted, dark with the lack of overhead light. He has a gut-feeling that something has gone very wrong.

He ventures outside and the street is similarly empty. He turns the corner, out onto a wider road, but is met with stillness; no cars, no people, nothing. The trees sway slightly in the breeze but they are the only living, breathing thing out here.

He breaks into a jog, panic building up inside his chest. Further along the road he finds abandoned cars, doors flung open and windows smashed through. There isn't a soul around, not a single human being.

He decides to head to the school anyway. If there were people left in his town, a large portion of them would be there. He decides to slip in through the back of the football field, as he always does. The entrance was usually empty, rarely used, and he could enter undetected.

He runs through the small wooded area surrounding the school until he reaches the hill that descends behind the field. It's gives him a good vantage point, the ability to see out across the part of the town, and it's then that he sees it; the explanation for what has happened to his hometown.

A large mass of people stumble around the campus. Even from this distance he can see that they're not human. They move too slowly, movements jerky and unnatural, and a low groaning echoes over the area, audible even to him. He already knows what this is.

It's a horde; a horde of the undead.

 

 

 

Defeated, once again, Jughead decides to go back to the drawing board. It's a new loop, the zombies eradicated and the town restored to it's original sleepy state.

It takes him two weeks to come up with his next plan - his final plan. He doesn't see that he has any other options. Saving them didn't work, revealing himself to Betty didn't work, allowing them to live out their lives didn't work. He had to go in a new direction.

He stares at the list of key events.

\- The storm  
\- Future Jughead meets Betty  
\- Future Jughead dies protecting Betty  
\- Dilton goes on a rampage, Betty dies

He had already tried and failed to alter the last three. He had one option left.

He goes back further than he ever has before, not to the day after the storm, but the day before it. The first thing he notices is how empty his apartment is. The place was clear of furniture and all of his belongings. None of the other versions of him - however many there had been, he would never know - had gone back this far. He didn't own this place the day before the storm.

He heads straight to the school. If he was going to be able to carry out his plan, he had to work fast.

Outside the principal's office, he watches an administrator log into the school system, making a note of the username and password. At lunch, she leaves her desk and the office is empty, clear of other people.

Jughead logs in and searches through the system until he finds the section he was looking for - Detention. He finds the listings for tomorrow's after-school detentions: C. Blossom, E. Cooper, F. Jones, V. Lodge. He changes the date, moving it to the next day, and clicks save. He then sends an email to their homeroom teachers - they must inform their students of the new date of their detention.

It's not a fool-proof plan. There is still a chance that one of them, or all of them, will still get caught in the storm. He can only hope and pray that they won't.

 

 

 

The next day, he waits outside of the school, watching the students filter out of the main entrance. He sees Betty and Veronica first, arms linked together before they part ways - Veronica to her car and Betty to Archie's. Archie arrives shortly after and they greet each other with a kiss.

Cheryl leaves soon after, speeding off in her expensive car, and present-Jughead emerges from the entrance ten minutes later, headphones on and a typical scowl on his face. All of them are home before the storm approaches.

Thunder rumbles above them, signalling the threat of the storm. Soon he would know whether the storm had chose them or if they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

 

 

Jughead doesn't know what to feel about taking their powers from them. There's a mixture of guilt, sadness, joy. He has essentially taken a part of them, and while it's a part they may not be aware of, it still feels like he's stolen a facet of their personality.

He's sad for his present-self, too. The storm brought a lot of heartbreak and pain for him, but there's so much that he won't experience now - friendship, support, feeling like he belongs.

Betty.

Still, he can't deny that it's a relief to see the gang continuing with their normal lives, unaware of the world of trouble they have just avoided.

The day after the storm is uneventful. They go on with their days as normal, in the roles they've always had - girlfriend, boyfriend, best friend, loner.

It's hard to watch Betty and Archie, still together and wrapped up in each other, when he knows the alternative. He can't help but think of Toni, too, across town, Archie now a stranger to her. At least Jughead still had Betty in his life.

He also feels a lot of guilt over Cheryl and Veronica. They despise each other, the aftermath of their fight in the gym lingering over them like a dark cloud. From what he can tell, there's not a semblance of love there. It feels almost cruel to take it from them, especially Cheryl. He had grown fond of her during their time as kind-of-friends and he knew she was desperate to be loved. Maybe even more than him.

Things are the same as always, as if the storm never happened. He knows that it may have hit the others, that Toni and Joaquin are possibly still dealing with the discovery of their new powers. But he tries not to dwell on that. His people were safe and that's what matters.

So for six months, Jughead watches.

 

 

 

Betty and Archie's break-up is the first big change. They begin to pull away from each other. Archie is always partying with Reggie, going to Southside parties and experimenting with drugs. It's not Betty's scene at all and she never goes with him despite his numerous invitations.

Then the fighting begins, arguments over Archie's reckless behavior and Archie feeling judged by his girlfriend. They spend days not talking to one another until they reluctantly make up, only to fight again a few days later.

Jughead watches it all unfold, unable to suppress the glimmer of happiness he feels. He doesn't want to see either of them upset - he loves Betty and Archie had become the closest thing he had to a best friend. But he knew that they didn't belong together and them parting ways was, in his opinion, for the best.

The final nail in the coffin is when Archie meets Toni. After a month spent going to the Southside, they finally cross paths at one of Joaquin's parties. It's a brief encounter, flirty conversation and lingering looks across the room, but Archie is smitten.

They break things off the next day. Archie, hungover and racked with guilt for spending the night thinking of another girl, asks Betty to meet him for breakfast at Pop's. As far as break-ups go, it's easy. There are no tears, no yelling; just two people talking quietly in a booth and admitting that things hadn't been working between them.

They leave the diner arm-in-arm, still friends.

 

 

 

There are two significant events on the same day.

Jughead and Betty share a hug in the empty Blue and Gold office, and Cheryl and Veronica begin their affair.

Tensions continue to rise between Cheryl and Veronica, both unable to let go of their anger. Neither of them can remember why they were fighting that day in the gym but they both know they hate each other because of it.

It all comes to a head during one particular practice. After an hour spent snapping at each other and throwing out insults, Veronica stomps off to the locker room while Cheryl hangs back.

When she finally enters to change, Veronica is still there, slamming her locker shut as hard as she can. She spins around, gasping when she sees Cheryl in front of her.

Her eyes narrow. "Could you refrain from being a bitch for just two minutes? I'm almost ready to leave."

Cheryl scoffs. "Don't play the victim, Lodge. It doesn't suit you."

" _I'm_ playing the victim?" She laughs, humorlessly. "I know you've always been a dick to people but you've been on a whole other level this past year. Your brother died and your daddy's a murderer. We get it, your life is tragic. But that doesn't mean you get to shit all over everyone else's."

Cheryl physically recoils at her words and Veronica's face falls.

"Shit, Cheryl... I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Shut up," Cheryl snaps and crosses the distance between them until she presses her lips to hers.

Veronica responds instantly but stumbles back when she realizes what's happening.

"What are we doing?" she asks, eyes flickering between Cheryl's, shocked by the desire she can see so clearly.

"Don't think about it," she murmurs and slides her hands up into Veronica's hair before their lips connect again.

That same afternoon, locked away in the Blue and Gold office, Betty and Jughead are sat behind their respective laptops, the tapping of keys the only sound in the room.

He looks over at her, sat beside him hard at work, slightly hunched over as she types quickly. Jughead liked the time he spent with Betty working on the paper. She liked to work quietly, like him, but was always willing to proof-read a paragraph or go over research when he asked for her help.

The past week had been different. She seemed distracted most of the time and was easily frustrated, often cursing at her screen when she made a mistake. She wasn't usually like that. He had assumed it was her split with Archie but he'd seen them around school together, chatting and smiling, acting like the best of friends. Neither of them seemed that broken up over it.

Today is no different. There's a deep frown on her face as she harshly scribbles out a line in her notebook, the pressure of the pen almost tearing the page.

"Hey," he murmurs, resting his hand on her elbow. "Are you okay?"

She looks up at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. "What? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" he asks, familiar with Betty's fake enthusiasm.

Her face drops then as she releases a heavy sigh.

"It's just been... a lot, lately."

"What has?"

"Everything." She scrapes her teeth over her bottom lip. "I'm sure you don't wanna hear about my problems."

"Betts, come on," he says softly. "We're friends, right? You can talk to me."

She looks over at him with her big, bright eyes.

"I don't know, I've just been feeling down lately. I wasn't that sad about me and Archie, I know it was the right thing to do. But he was still a big part of my life, and when you combine that with school and helping Polly with the twins, and dealing with my mother. It's a lot to handle."

Jughead doesn't think he's ever seen Betty look so defeated. She was an overachiever by nature and had been trained to put up a good front for years, never letting others see when things were becoming too much. It was weird to hear her being so honest.

He's not sure why he does it - he and Betty have never been the hugging kind of friends. Maybe it's the vulnerability he can see so clearly, as she sits with her head hung low, hands curled into fists on her lap.

"God, Betts," he sighs and wraps an arm around her shoulders to pull her close.

She settles against him, head resting against his shoulder.

"You know you can talk to me. I know what's it like to feel overwhelmed with... well, life."

She laughs quietly. "Thanks, Juggie."

Betty hasn't called him that since he was ten years old. He isn't sure what to make of the warmth that spreads through his chest at the sound of the nickname.

 

 

 

It takes two months. Two months of fooling around and secret dates and affectionate nicknames and thinly-veiled confessions of love before Veronica has had enough.

"We need to tell people," she declares as she stretches out across Cheryl's bed.

Cheryl looks over at her from her desk, homework now abandoned.

"Tell them what?"

"That we're dating," she replies, the 'duh' unsaid but still clear.

Cheryl turns back to her laptop. "Is that what we're doing?" she asks quietly.

"Obviously," she answers.

It's then she notices the sag in Cheryl's shoulders, her refusal to meet her eye as she asked the question. Maybe it wasn't obvious to her.

She stands behind her desk chair, leans down to wrap her arms around her neck from behind.

"You know this is real for me, right?" she murmurs. "I want to be with you. I want everyone to know about us."

Cheryl reaches up to wrap her hand around Veronica's. "Really?" she asks softly.

Veronica presses a kiss to her cheek. "Really."

The next morning, they walk through the hallway hand-in-hand, smiling wide with their heads held high.

 

 

 

It's a slower progression for Betty and Jughead. After their embrace in the office, they become closer. They confide in each other, discuss what's bothering them, offer advice and support where they can. Betty calms Jughead down with a hand on his back when he talks about his parents and Jughead lists off all the reasons why Alice Cooper criticisms are completely untrue.

Soon their hour in the office extends into evenings spent together, getting dinner at Pop's or studying in Betty's room. There are small, affectionate touches - a palm against the small of her back, a hand wrapped around his bicep as they walk - and glances when they think the other isn't looking. Butterflies, too, when they catch those glances.

Jughead knows he likes Betty and he thinks she may like him, too. He wasn't always the best at picking up on social cues and he had never really been interested in a girl before, but he definitely wasn't imagining the shift in their friendship.

One weekend, Jughead offers to help babysit her niece and nephew. Polly is going out with some friends, her parents are on a date night, and Betty had agreed to help out despite being wary of watching two toddlers alone. When Jughead had asked if she wanted some company, her answer had been immediate.

It's a busy few hours. They take a baby each - Betty with Eliza and Jughead with JJ - and get them fed, bathed and changed before bed.

"Goodnight," she calls out into the room as she switches off the light. The warm yellow glow of the nightlight now fills the nursery.

She closes the door softly behind her and turns to Jughead with a smile. He leans back against the wall wearing a smile of his own. Betty was always sweet and gentle, but seeing her with her niece and nephew had been something else entirely.

"Lets go to my room," she murmurs, catching his hand before pulling him down the hallway.

She takes a seat at the edge of her bed and sighs.

"I am so not ready to be a mom."

He laughs, taking a seat beside her.

"I think that's pretty normal at our age," he says. "But you're really good with them."

"I guess. I've had a lot of practice. I've been helping Polly ever since they were born."

They fall into a comfortable silence and Jughead takes a moment to look around her room, taking in the soft color scheme and the posters and the items littered around the space.

"Hey, Jug." He turns to her. She looks flushed, a spot of color in her cheeks; she looks almost nervous. "I just wanted to say thank you, for tonight. And for the past few months. You've been really good to me - always listening to me and letting me cry on your shoulder."

He smiles. "That's okay. You've been there for me, too. We need to look out for one another."

"Yeah," she agrees, smiling down at her lap. Her eyes flicker back up, meeting his gaze. She licks her lips. "Also..."

She trails off and he waits, watching her carefully as she seems to consider what she's going to say next.

She doesn't finish her sentence. Instead she leans forward and presses a soft kiss to his lips, a feather-light brush. Her eyes are wide as she pulls back, waiting for him to react. He can't quite believe what is happening but he knows he wants it to happen again. Instinct tells him to take the lead this time, to kiss her back.

She smiles against his mouth as they kiss for the second time, side-by-side on her floral pink comforter. If he were to write about it, describe it in his novel, he'd use words like sweet and pure and lovely. And he'd use the same words to describe Betty herself.

 

 

 

He lets things play out, moving through time, stopping when necessary, like it's a movie that needs to be paused during the good parts. But there are still times when he interferes.

Dilton is a liability, a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. He calls the cops three days before the day of the shooting, anonymously informs them that Dilton has a number of illegal weapons and unregistered fire-arms. He never gets a chance to follow up on the outcome; the Diltons leave town a few weeks later.

Grundy, too, is another criminal he takes down. Another phone call to police leads to them catching her in the act with a fourteen year-old boy that she is supposed to be tutoring. It isn't until news of the arrest reaches Riverdale High that he discovers Archie had been one of her victims.

Both incidents become insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Life continues in Riverdale.

The gang moves on, forming new relationships and working towards the end of senior year. Cheryl moves to New York for college and she and Veronica do long-distance before she joins her in the fall. Archie decides to move to California with Toni, to make a fresh start for her and pursue his music. Betty and Jughead make plans for college, both accepted to NYU and ecstatic to be living in the same city together. They make a trip to the city when they receive their acceptance letters, take a picture on the Brooklyn Bridge.

They're friends, all connected by their long-term friendships and romantic relationships. It's not like it was after the storm - they're not all bonded by a strange secret - and it makes Jughead sad. But then he realizes that their close bond is another sacrifice for them all being alive and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Betty doesn't die. Veronica doesn't die. He doesn't die. Everyone is alive and no one can produce fire with their hands or make themselves invisible, but they're happy and that's what matters.

 

 

 

The day of their graduation, Jughead is there, invisible among the rows of proud family members. Betty delivers her valedictorian speech, and Jughead and Veronica cheer proudly from the stage. They all sit in their blue cap and gowns, ready to put an end to this chapter of their lives.

A smile tugs at his lips as he sees Jughead dip Betty into a kiss, Veronica snapping a picture on her phone. It's a keeper, for sure, and one day it will sit framed on their dresser, in their first New York apartment, right beside their first picture on the bridge.

The last day of summer they pack their things into Jughead's truck and say their goodbyes to the Andrews and Coopers. His dad is there, too, looking tired but proud. Betty is tearful but giddy, nestling herself against Jughead's chest as he pulls her into a comforting hug.

A beautiful feeling washes over him as he watches the scene. It's more than happiness, more than pride - it's satisfaction. It's the feeling he's been chasing ever since he first came back. And after all the planning and the grief and the mistakes, he finally feels it. _Satisfied_.

They were going to be just fine.

 

 

 

The cabin is small and secluded, nestled back in the heart of the woods. Not many people knew about this place.

The fire spreads quickly, engulfing the wooden structure in roaring flames. He stands in the center of the room and pulls his gun from it's holster. The barrel is cool against his skin as he presses it beneath his chin.

With a smile on his face, he pulls the trigger.

 


End file.
